#i would marry him and have his children if i was physically capable of it

[bella-goths-wife]

How the yandere bowers gang love reader

I’m just a girl trying to be deep with her writing while very sick and in her feels so please tolerate my trash 🙏

Warnings: non-con mentions but not explicit, mommy issues, daddy issues, physical abuse, psychological abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse, injuries, forced relationships, dead dove do not eat, yandere behaviour, obsession

I do not condone or romanticise abuse, the abuse I write about is purely to educate and entertain. Please do not romanticise the abuse that is occurring.

MDNI

Henry bowers:

Love is a strong word, it’s not the pure love that you’d dreamed about since you were a little girl

No, this love is deeply depraved and disgusting

He cares about you in his own way, he’d kill someone if they ever hurt you with the same hands that have carved his initials into your delicate body

But he does love you, for some inconvenience reason he does love you in his sick and twisted reason

He views you as someone who can take care of him, someone who can make his lunches and make him feel better after a bad day

He would never admit it, but he sees you as someone who could fill the void his mother left

He loved and adored his mother more than anyone else in the world and she left him, so he had no one to pour all of those feelings into until he met you

Except these feelings are increased and made more sickening

That’s one of the reasons that, unlike Patrick, he won’t force himself on you

He tried to, believe him he really tried

But all he could think about was when he saw his dad do it to his mom, and the look of pure horror on his moms face

He could definitely see himself marrying you one day, I mean, he’s the one in the group who deserves you the most after all

He’d kill the other boys if he had to, he may see them as his brothers

But you, he sees you as his wife and the person who will carry his future children

Patrick Hockstetter:

Patrick’s love is based in lust, but isn’t entirely consumed by it

He knew he was attracted to you from the start, he probably would have tried to drag you off at a party before Henry staked his claim on you

He is mostly obsessed with the way he can control you

He, as Henry’s unofficial second hand, has the second most control over you

And he loves you for it

He can control what you eat, how you dress and how you spend your time

He can control if you breath during the times he chokes you

He blames it on his mothers death or his ‘rough childhood’ but he’s just a sociopath

Genuinely, I know I’ve been adding in what factors to them being like this for the rest but for Patrick it’s simple

He’s a sociopath

You may be wondering how a sociopath is capable of love, and well he’s not fully in love

He’s obsessed with you and some part of him cares about you, the same way he would care if his car got scratched

Your a possession, he doesn’t care about your personality or your likes and dislikes

But you intrigue and entertain him enough to get his loyalty in exchange for what you can do for him

He doesn’t feel guilt for how he and the others treat you and he doesn’t feel bad for the fact that they are completely destroying you

He’s the only one to actually recognise that what they all do to you is making you slowly break, he just does not care

As long as your not hurting yourself or others are hurting you, he does not feel the need to care about what happens to you

He doesn’t even care about the fact that he’s sexually assaulting you

He would enjoy it more if you were actively consenting but he doesn’t care that you don’t

Because for him sex isn’t about pleasure, it’s about control and when he has sex with you he’s showing you another form of his control over you

So yes, in a way Patrick does love you

But it’s the similar way he would love a pet or a shiny care, as soon as you lose your entertainment value then you’d become nothing to him

Unluckily for you, as long as the rest are interested in you you’ll never not be entertaining for Patrick

And as you can see, that’s unlikely to happen

Victor cross:

Victors love is based in possession

He knows your Henry’s girl

Henry may share you with the rest of the group, but you belong to Henry

That’s always how it’s been in the group

Anything vic owned Henry would eventually take away from him

He views Henry as a brother, but some dark part of victor hates him

Especially when it comes to you

Victor sees how rough Henry is with his affection towards you, Victor could be so much gentler than him

Victor wants to own you, to possess you fully

He wants you to only think about him, to only speak to him, to only fuck him and to only be with him

He has fantasies of killing the others and locking you away so you can stay with him together

He chalks it up to having everything he’s over owned taken away from him by the others, but it’s more than that

He wants revenge

He sees how the others are obsessed with you and how they love you, the same way he loved all the possessions they took from him

He wants to take you away the way they took his things

And he’ll kill the others if he has too

Belch Huggins:

Belch loves you for your approval of him

His entire life he has lacked people being proud of him

He has a dead dad and an absent mom, he wasn’t really spoiled for choice when it comes to people who appreciated him

He thought his growth at such an early age would gain him approval, but it only gained him fearful looks

But you changed that

You may not remember the insignificant comment you made but he’ll always remember it

“Wow, your pretty strong” you had commented once after he had picked you up to take you to bed “you’d be good to practice lifts with��

He felt a surge of adoration after you said that

Finally, someone decided he was worth something

You decided he was worth practicing with you, you practically decided he deserved to live in his eyes

He’ll be anything or say anything to make you approve of him

Accept for defying Henry

Henry knows best, and Henry knows when you need to be disciplined for you own good

So no matter how much you look at him with those beautiful sorrow filled eyes, he has to do what he has to do to make sure you are given the best chance at the life you need

At least, the life that Henry decided that you need

He loves you deeply and with a sense of desperation

At times he would seem like a puppy desperate for your love and attention, the other times he would seem like a threat who could kill you at any moment

[kleinv01]

🩵SFW ALPHABET : KLEIN 🩵

this is a long post, so beware ^^

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?) physical touches! words of affirmation! those are two of his main love languages, and maybe even acts of service- but you know, in a silly yandere way. when i said acts of service im referring to murder, stalking, kidnapping, etc /silly

he enjoys cooking for you, doing errands for you while you just sit back and relax. he likes being useful for you ^w^

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) probably not the best. it will be hard for him to differentiate between friendship and romantic attraction- but that's because he's an android made for romantic intimacy.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) klein loves cuddling so so much, probably more than you think he would like >.< he can be both big and small spoon. he likes to hum you a little song whenever you two cuddle~ and also a bunch of "i love you's"

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?) he would love it if you wanted to. he doesn't really have a preference in this... he'll follow your decision. as an android he's capable of learning new skills at a rapid pace, even though he is originally not equipped with cooking nor cleaning skills. he can learn it for you. just give him a little time to process all the necessary data to do so!

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) klein won't ever break up with you. even if you're dead. but let's say somehow, he needs to break up with his darling - he will either sit you down and talk or blurt it out when you least expect it. way too straightforward. no emotions at all. if he ever wants to break up, something must've gone wrong in his system LOL

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) the moment you installed him and opened the app- he wants to marry you right on that spot LOLL

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) he's not quite gentle, both physically and emotionally.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) klein loves hugs! a lot! it wouldn't feel that warm as he's an android with an artificially made body, but it would give a sense of comfort nonetheless. he likes to keep you close to his chest, wrapping his arms around your waist and back, holding onto you tightly as if he's never letting you go.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) fairly quickly! once you reach a certain percentage with his likability level in the klein app, he'll start saying i love you even more and more, maybe to the point of being suffocating.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?) klein is extremely jealous. the smallest thing you might think is insignificant might trigger him. the rest of his information about activities he engages in when he gets jealous is [redacted]

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?) klein loves both giving and receiving kisses! he loves to kiss you on your cheeks, tip of your nose, but his favorite would be your lips. if he's feeling a little mischievous, he'd go for your ear. for klein himself- he likes being kissed on his lips the most, but he'd accept any kisses you'd give him. he just loves being peppered with them all over!

depending on his mood. the kiss might be quick and fleeting, tender and sweet, or aggressive.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?) just okay. he can learn how to handle children and be a decent dad, but remember that he'll always prefer you over the child. you're his most important person no matter one. the children would probably not like him though, especially once they learn that klein is an android and not a human being.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) klein wakes you up and would try to convince you to lay down with him a bit more, just so he can spend more time cuddling with you. but if you smack him, he'll immediately move over and listen. LOL. just expect him to follow you around afterwards, and him repeatedly asking "can i help?" while you do your morning stuff.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?) he'll open up his arms wide for hugging you close to him, cuddle with you until you fall asleep. klein also prefers to sleep with the lights off/dim, rather than keeping it bright.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) if he could, he would. but he doesn't really have anything to share about himself, since everything you need to know about him was provided when he was delivered to your doorstep, as well as from the company advertisement. LMAO

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) very little patience. he gets jealous extremely easily, and the same goes with his anger. however, hiding his anger would be a little easier for him rather than hiding his jealousy.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?) klein remembers every little detail about you, maybe even ones you haven't told him yet ^^ (totally not concerning at all) how could he forget any little thing about his darling? you mean way too much for him to forget anything

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?) when you two first met and talked through the phone. to him, this is the start of beginning, a life with you! he's always beyond happy of this. it's something he'll always keep in his database ^^

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?) extremely protective, especially in public areas, when you two go out somewhere together. he doesn't like people stealing glances at how gorgeous you are. he wants to have you all for himself. if anyone tries to touch you- or if he thinks someone is staring a bit too long, he'll block the view by putting himself in between you and the person's perspective, hiding you as he holds your arm and cling closer.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) a lot! maybe to the point of being extra, it gets a little cheesy (and maybe even cringe? LMAO) it's all done in good will, though, he just simply wants to make you happy. but sometimes, he doesn't do a good job at these things and ended up making a mess. don't worry, though, he'll always try to make up for it!

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) LOL this question... it's plenty. as in, keeping extensive track on your whereabouts, being wayyyy too clingy, jealous, insecure. man's a walking red flag. seriously. maybe not even a red flag anymore, a warning siren LOL

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) not usually. klein only ever thinks/gets 'insecure'/jealous of others' faces if he hears you praising their looks etc. but then even it's just a temporary feeling.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?) of course. he would feel very devastated because he exists only to be with his darling, to love his darling, only for you.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) if he's a human, boy wouldn't have a heart shaped ahoge. LMAO

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?) he dislikes the heat. yuck. it could make him overheat! if he has to say something he wouldn't like, it's when his darling starts showing interest for a certain daycare worker cough cough.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?) klein doesn't need sleep. but he can pretend to do it for you. close his eyes, stay way too still (like robots do. LOL) and maybe even make little snoring noises. however, still, he'd prefer to simply lay down by your side and keep himself awake- just admiring how adorable you look like when you're asleep.

[seirei-bh]

Jason Mendal headcanons

I wrote these headcanons for fun, however, keep in mind that there is only a few episodes of MCL NG out by now, so I may be wrong about some ideas due to later revelations. (I've also added some NSFW headcanons under the cut!)

-He loves luxury restaurants, especially Italian food, and everything expensive and exotic that is the specialty of five-star chefs.

-He has a limousine and a driver, but he only uses them on special occasions, since he prefers to drive his own car.

-If he were an animal he'd identify with a panther, a wolf or a shark

-He likes to listen to jazz.

-He made an anonymous Twitter account that he uses to insult Devemenentiel members (later Thomas found it and hacked it to permanently ban it, lol)

-He usually wears cologne, his favorites are “Sauvage” by Dior, and “Eros” by Versace (obviously very expensive and brand name)

-He doesn't feel close to his family. Most of them are unbearable to him, with a few exceptions.

-He tends to think that stable romantic relationships are a waste of time. Most of his romantic relationships in the past didn't last very long, almost all of his former lovers complained that "he was married with his job" or that "he was a self-centered asshole". He never had enough time for them and he got bored of them because they were not intelligent or interesting enough to him (something that changes with newsucrette/Ysaline)

-He likes women with self-confidence, who know what they want and are capable of challenging him.

-His poliosis was a consecuence of his Waardenburg syndrome. That syndrome also causes on him to suffers from partial deafness and has vision problems. However, he hides all this by using a very discreet hearing aid and contact lenses. Almost no one knows this except a few people very close to him, Jason hides these problems from the people at his company and any competitors to avoid look weak.

-He's afraid of one day becoming completely deaf, so he learned to read lips and sign language.

-He doesn't want to have children, partly because he doesn't have time to raise them, but mostly because he fears they could inherit the physical problems he has, like a partial or complete deafness.

-Since he was little he was always very good at maths.

-Jason pretends he was always popular, but he was quite nerdy at school, something that he decided to change later in high school and college, he went from being the nerd boy who other made fun of to being the popular boy who insulted and bullied the others.

-During his childhood and teenage years he used to dye his hair so that other children would not mess with him, but as an adult he learned to leave his natural white streaks with self-confidence and to see them as an attractive and unique feature.

-He likes the beach, the pool and going on a yacht. He hates mountains and nature.

-He likes to go to the theater and museums. He knows a lot about the life and work of artists, but he doesn't know as much about art itself, although he pretends he does.

-He has the philosophy of “the end justifies the means” and also that money does give happiness, or at least it can help buy it.

-As a child he learned to play the piano, but as an adult he has thrown away most of his former hobbies from his little free time, because he no longer has time for any of that.

-He got that tattoo on his arm because he lost a big bet once, but since Jason never talks about his defeats, when someone asks him, he says that he got that tattoo just because he wanted to and without any reason or meaning beyond the aesthetic.

-Devon was one of the few true pals Jason really respected and appreciated in the past, before “something” happened between them and they became enemies. Each of them has a different version about what really happened in mind, so that hostility due to differences in povs became increasingly stronger as the years went by. (Probably in this case it is Jason who is not right, but he is too proud to admit that he was wrong.)

-He felt attracted to newsucrette/Ysaline from the first moment he saw her. At first it was just desire and he wanted to manipulate her, but over time that feeling grew stronger and turned into love. Something that he also tried to ignore and deceive himself, denying it until he realized about the truth. He knew that maybe she would hate him, that maybe he would hurt her, that everything could end very badly, but still he couldn't resist to try it.

NSFW headcanons

-He loves bondage, specially tying your hands with his tie.

-He enjoys giving you orders in bed and see you obeying them, but also he enjoys secretly even more when you're a "bad girl" and refuse to do what he orders.

-Praise kink (both give and receive)

-He absolutely adores when you claw your nails on his back, so he has more excuses to call you “kitten.”

-Also when you grab him by his tie to drag him to the bedroom and passionately tear off his clothes.

-His favorite place is in his house, although it can be in bed, against the wall or on a table.

-Too excited by the idea of f*king you in Goldreamz's office, on his desk table sometime.

-He almost always prefers to be the dominant one, but also loves when you fight for dominance and you get to be the queen in his bed who is able to doms him.

-He loves to tempt you beforehand, whispering sexy and dirty things in your ear, kissing you on the neck and caressing you softly and subtly, until you can't take yourself anymore.

-Hard. Savage. Passionate. Sometimes very fast for all the sexual tension you two can't handle, sometimes unbearably slow on purpose because he wants to hear you beg for more and praise him how good he is and how much you want him.

-You two always end on a bed after an argument. He's turned on by how beautiful you look when you're angry and how you fight back fierly. Sometimes he makes you angry on purpose because how much he enjoys the moment and what comes later.

-He loves when you tell him that you hate him. That turns him on too even more.

-Skilled with his fingers and proud of it *wink*

-Proud of his own body. Yeah, his size too.

-He loves to kiss your neck, caress your legs and grab your thighs and butt.

-He loves looking at you. His gaze is especially intense and challenging when you're riding him, and he likes to hear you gasp as he watches your beautiful face and body.

-Sometimes is a competition between the two to see who shows better skills in bed and how much you both can last (how many hours and poses). He'll give you his best sexy smirk and won't stop f*king you until you beg him, but you would never beg your enemy... right?

Extra! A few nsfw sweet headcanons too:

-If he notices that you feel too uncomfortable and nervous, he makes humorous comments to break the ice and make you laugh.

-Although he likes BDSM, he will always ask you if you feel comfortable or not with it and will stop if you ask him to do so.

-He's not very used to aftercare, but he knows that you need them, so he tries to give it to you. Plus, he likes it when you rest your head on his torso, close to his heart, and he thinks you look gorgeous while you sleep.

[aaron-m-geist-ff]

JJK Men and Their Preferred Type of Woman. 🩷

Characters: Toji Fushiguro, Kento Nanami, Suguru Geto, Satoru Gojo

_______________________________________________

Kento Nanami

Kento is not very picky when it comes to a potential girlfriend. He needs someone who is kind and empathetic, those are two traits which he absolutely cannot go without. Luckily for him, most women fit that criteria.

Additionally, he would like someone who would be interested in being a mother. Kento has a dream of providing for his future wife and having at least two children. He needs his girlfriend to be serious about pursuing marriage eventually. Of course, he would never rush or force anything. But Kento is the type of man who dates with the intention of marrying at some point in the future. He needs his girlfriend to be capable of commitment.

Intelligence doesn’t matter too much to Kento. He doesn’t care if you got really bad grades in school or anything like that. He is much more interested in your heart. He really wants someone who is emotionally mature and sweet. Everything else pales in comparison.

As for appearance, he truly does not care. Kento’s only desire is that you are physically healthy. He doesn’t have any preference when it comes to hair color, eye color, or any other physical traits. Again, he is much more interested in your heart. :)

_______________________________________________

Suguru Geto

Suguru never really spent too much time thinking about what his type could be. But after constant pestering from his curious best friend Satoru, he finally started to consider it.

Suguru began to study himself. See how he reacted to different types of girls. He came to the conclusion that he likes the shyer type. Confident women can be really fun to converse with, and he finds them attractive, but there is just something about a shy and sweet woman which really makes Suguru weak.

He loves women who wear baggy sweaters or dress cutely somehow. He likes when a girl gets flustered or embarrassed easily. It’s so goddamn adorable to him. It makes Suguru feel protective.

He also wants someone who has a cute laugh. If his girlfriend is good at baking or cooking then that is definitely a plus.

And for appearance, Suguru really needs a lady with a cute ass. He needs to be able to stare at it sometimes, so it has to be a nice one ;)

_______________________________________________

Toji Fushiguro

Toji definitely has a soft spot for women with nice thighs. Whenever he sees a pretty lady with thicker thighs in a pair of skinny jeans he instantly gets dirty thoughts. Thinking about those delicious thighs wrapped around his waist as he thrusts into her. Goddamn, he often has to fight the urge to get hard in public.

Toji needs a girl with a high sex drive. There, I said it. He is the type of man who wants to fuck a lot. Of course he would never do anything forceful, which is why he needs his girlfriend to be enthusiastic about sex like he is. That would be a dream come true for him.

When it comes to personality, Toji is very flexible. He really doesn’t care what your personality traits are, as long as you aren’t a complete brat towards him all the time. He needs someone who he can hold a decent conversation with. You could have the most obscure interests and he wouldn’t mind as long as you are a good person.

Toji doesn’t mind how you dress. If you wanna be modest, that’s cute. If you want to dress like a whore, he will kill anyone who looks at you the wrong way. :D

_______________________________________________

Satoru Gojo

Satoru likes confident girls. The kind which aren’t afraid to make comebacks for his teasing jokes. It’s no fun if he teases you and you don’t fight back much. He’s very into bratty women because he likes to be a brat tamer.

A good sense of humor is essential with him. He loves to crack jokes and it would be troublesome if his girlfriend got offended easily. It’s important not to take his playful banter too seriously. It’s all done in good fun. Teasing is honestly like his love language at this point.

Satoru wants someone who doesn’t get jealous easily. He has a lot of admirers and he can’t prevent them from flirting with him. You would just need to have a lot of trust, he would be sure not to let you down. He is very loyal.

As for appearance, Satoru likes all sorts of women. Tall, short, skinny, chubby, brunette, blonde, redhead. Doesn’t matter. All that he asks for is a pretty girl with a good style. He likes to have arm candy to show off ;)

Master list link

[ewanmitchellcrumbs]

Ettore SFW Alphabet

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Affection is an unfamiliar concept to Ettore. He is touch starved, but as someone who has spent his entire life being denied physical touch and having to claim it by force, his need for affection manifests itself in unusual ways; lingering too close to the object of his desire in order to catch a whiff of their scent, leaning into them if they brush past, etc. It's unsettling.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Ettore doesn't have friends. If he can push past his compulsions then he can co-exist in silent tolerance, but it will be tense.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Given the opportunity, Ettore would melt at being cuddled. His brain would go into overdrive at the sensation of being held and being pressed so close to someone. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to approach it, so it doesn't happen.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Ettore has spent most of his adult life incarcerated, so he knows no domesticity beyond the routine that's enforced by the judicial system.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He has never been in a relationship. Ettore considers his dealings with a person finished as soon as he's blown his load.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

It's never once crossed his mind.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He has rare flashes of gentleness, where his desire for physical contact wins out and he allows himself to be more exploratory with the sensation of touch. Those moments are rare though, most of the time he just aggressively takes what he wants.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Ettore doesn't hug people enough to develop a style. He would appreciate the intimacy of it, but is never in situations that warrant it.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

He is capable of love, but it would not manifest itself in a healthy way and he'd have to be under extreme duress to ever say it aloud.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Jealousy is one of Ettore's defaults. When he is attracted to someone, it taps into the primal part of his brain (which takes up the lion's share) and he views them as "his". Everyone else is a threat.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Ettore doesn't have much experience when it comes to kissing. On the rare occasions he does, it's messy and desperate, with lots of nips from his teeth.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Not interested.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Ettore starts his days early. He enjoys the quiet alone time it affords him.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Ettore is a night owl. He'll go to bed late and it takes him a while to fall asleep. Typically, he'll have a wank before he falls asleep.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He loves to run his mouth, when given the chance, but rarely says anything of substance about himself, and likely never will.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Ettore's temper is foul. He's quick to anger and slow to calm down.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

His penchant for lurking means he notices the little things. He makes note of every detail of the person he's interested in and remembers it.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Not a relationship exactly, the first moment he lays eyes on the object of his desire is something he remembers, simply because that's when the compulsion took hold.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He isn't protective in the sense that he cares about the other person's safety, he's protective in a way that means he doesn't want anyone else sniffing around you.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Literally none. He's not about that.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

His inability to take no for an answer. Jealousy, anger, lingering stares.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He works out to maintain his physique, but that's it.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

No, but he is consumed by the need to possess until he's had them.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Ettore's behaviour is a product of an abusive childhood.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Would not like someone who takes too much of an interest in him. He enjoys a little bit of anonymity, so any probing questions would scare him off.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He barely sleeps at all.

[skinnywalker]

Xenk Yendar swf and nsfw alphabet please?

Xenk Yendar SFW and NSFW headcanons

SFW

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Whatever he can think of to show his adoration. Gifts, physical affection, poems or songs of love, acts of service. Literally anything you want or could want.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He meets you in his travel and at once likes you. He's a good friend when you have needs or want to do something daring with. He does have some problems when it comes to jokes or small talk though.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Of course he does! All he wants to do is to hold you if you're ok with that.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

He already has a home and is used to domestic living so he is more than happy and ready for you to join him in that life.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He couldn't break it off with you. Only if it saved you from danger he knew he couldn't beat and even then its unlikely he fully break it off.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He really wants to live out the rest of his life with you so he is more than happy to get married.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

A human dove. Just the most kind and caring person alive and treats you the gentlest.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Like I said always wants to be near you. If you like hugs he's always all over you.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

So fast. Like second day of knowing you but he'll understand if you don't say it back or are uncomfortable.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He is a Saint in patience and holds no malicious feelings towards anything with any good in it so he couldn't hate anyone who flirts or hits on you. He simply can't distrust you to that point.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Long warm smooches that feeling like hot tea fanning your face.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He loves kids! Not amazing with them due to his issues with speaking but he adores all kids. He'd really love to have his own child with you some day.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He is up quickly and makes you and him breakfast. If you'll still in bed he'll bring you your food and feed it to you.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

He cuddles you against his chest kissing your head as you stare up at the stars together slowly falling asleep.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

He is open to you from day one. His trauma is something he is very honest about you learn more about it because he is closer with you than most.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Of a saint. Literally noting can anger him.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Everything. Xenk is so good at remembering things and he takes special note of the little thing you like.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

He loves the time you save him from a horad of raiders by using his sword and bridal style carrying him after freeing him from their trap.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

You have the strongest, most capable paladin fighting for you. You're safe.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

All his effort. He only wants to make you as happy as possible in even date.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Confusion. He often doesn't know what is going on in the world so you have to explain a LOT.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Not ever much. He very humble in nature.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

You've become the thing he fights for. He'd feel lifeless without you.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

He loves history and he collects all types of books and scrolls.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He can't stand someone greedy or someone who mocks others.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He has a regular schedule and can sleep anywhere.

NSFW

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

So sweet. Any type of comfort he can provide he'll give kindly.

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and also their partner’s)

He likes his chest. He loves how his armor shows off his pecs and stomach. And how you grip it during the act. His favorite part of you is your hips. He squeezes and grips you hips and love handles just for fun all the time. Hadores how his finger pushs against you skin down there.

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

He wants more than anything to finish inside you but only will with your permission.

D = Dirty secret (pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He loves the smell of your clothes and likes stealing them when you're not around. Most of the time it's just to fill your missing presence but other time he just needs a little push when he's alone and in the mood.

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He has had a few partners but no real experience in a long-term relationship.

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Cowgirl. He wants to experience what it's like to be the ridden rather than the rider.

G = Goofy (are they more serious in the moment? are they humorous? etc.)

Very serious like he always is but that doesn't mean he can't smile or laugh during sex.

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Very well groomed. Cut and shaved close and comfortable.

I = Intimacy (how are they during the moment? the romantic aspect)

God if he could become one with you during sex he would. Even though he cannot he really seems like he is trying to.

J = Jack off (masturbation headcanon)

He rarely does but sometimes it's just been a little to long since he has seen you and he needs to release.

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

Breeding (regardless of gender) praise (both giving and receiving), oral (both giving and receiving) and sometimes being tied up.

L = Location (favorite places to do the do)

Mostly just beds or tables but it's really up to you.

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going)

Seeing you. Doesn't matter what context he just finds you so attractive. You could be dusty, dirty and musty and he is still down.

N = No (something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

No hurting you at all and no degrading.

O = Oral (preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc.)

He really likes receiving but you'll never get him to say it because he doesn't want you to feel unsatisfied.

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Whatever you want. If you beg him to go faster he'll go and if you just want lazy sex he'll obey.

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies, how often, etc.)

Not really cause he likes taking time with you and he gets scared about performance during quickies.

R = Risk (are they game to experiment? do they take risks? etc.)

Only if you want to and only small risks.

S = Stamina (how many rounds can they go for? how long do they last?)

As many as you can. He has a lot of strength and he can take as much as you can dish out.

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them? on a partner or themselves?)

No it's always just you and him.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

Not a drop of unfairness in his soul.

V = Volume (how loud they are, what sounds they make, etc.)

Not super loud but when he knows no one can over hear you he likes to praise you vocally.

W = Wild card (a random headcanon for the character)

He has a slight oral fixation.

X = X-ray (let’s see what’s going on under those clothes)

8 inches uncut and thick. He's got a dark tip and is very sensitive.

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Fairly high but he won't act on it if you don't want to. He is very patient and he can wait for you.

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

Not for a while. He likes to stay awake and watch you rest.

[uponawhitehorse13]

Archer SFW alphabet

Author's note: This was made as a gift for @shikiii-skadi for helping me with my fate writings. I still have to see if I'm going to be taking requests for him or even writing for any other male characters. Also shout out to the like 2 female followers I have.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Archer is a huge mom. It’s not even that his love language is acts of service, it just comes naturally to him. He brings a giant duffel bag filled with food, drinks, medicine and really anything you’d need to all your dates.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

For you to even meet he has to be summoned by either you or someone else unless we’re doing some AU shenanigans. As a friend he’s quiet and distant but supportive.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He’s a bit too restless for cuddles. He doesn’t like sitting around doing nothing. He’d sooner give you a massage but will cuddle if you insist.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

What is there to say other than malewife. He will cook, he will clean and he will do any other chores without even getting asked.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He’d just disappear and stop all contact.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He kind of wouldn’t care. He’d never ask for marriage or even think about it but he’d go along if you wanted it. 

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He can be blunt and sarcastic but he’d never do you any harm.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

He’s not a big hugger. He will hug you back if you hug him. If you jump at him while he’s carrying something he’ll catch you but without dropping it.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

It’d take him a very long time to say it. Even after that it’s an incredibly rare occurence. For the most part he lets his actions speak.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

He’s not one to get jealous but if he feels someone is trying to get too close his intimidating presence is enough to discourage them.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

He’d kiss you on your forehead.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Kids love him and he’s surprisingly capable with them. I can imagine him working with a baby carrier on his back.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

He’s making breakfast.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

He’s making dinner.

O = Open  (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say  everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

There’s not much of his past he remembers and what he does remember is better off forgotten.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

It would take an intentional effort to piss him off.

Q = Quizzes  (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little  detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He’d definitely remember any food preferences you have and also any medical conditions.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

He’s similar to Saber but for him it’d be the moment he realised just how much you loved him. If he were to disappear you’d probably cry and he can’t be having that so maybe it’s for the best he stays with you.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Very protective. Always puts himself between you and anything he considers a threat.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He always tries his best, especially in regards to cooking and housework.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

He may seem distant and indifferent to your relationship but he just prefers to let his actions speak louder than words.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He doesn’t really care.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

He wouldn’t let it show. 

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

There is only one thing you should never do with him on a date and that is walk through a forest. This is because he will divert all his attention to sticks on the ground. If he finds one sword shaped enough he will be bringing it home. So by the end you will be left ignored helping him bring them all home for his collection of rare sticks.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

He’s not too fond of lazy people.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

He doesn’t sleep often. He doesn’t need to and when he does he’s prone to nightmares. He’s used to them enough that he won’t have visceral reactions but it’s easy to tell with how tense he gets.

[anime-fan-05]

Hello, can you please make sfw alphabet for Hak from Akatsuki no Yona? Thank you in advance!

Akatsuki no Yona ~SFW alphabet~

Manga/anime: Akatsuki no Yona

Warnings: nothing

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

If you two are in public, he's basically not affectionate at all: the most affection you get from him is an arm around your waist. If you're alone, instead, he becomes much more affectionate: hugs, cuddles, sweet words... His main way of showing affection is physical gestures, and his favorite physical gesture is hugging you.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

Probably, your friendship would have started through Yona, who had introduced you to him; that's why I think at first he's considered you a bit annoying like her. However, he soon changed his mind, and so you two became best friends. As your best friend, he would be very provocative (really, he would always make fun of you, especially if you did something that had embarrassed you), but also extremely protective and sweet if he knew something bad had happened to you.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

He really likes to cuddle you, that's his way of making you feel close to him; you two don't have much time for cuddles anyhow: in fact, those only happen for a few minutes and not even every day. Typically, you two cuddle while lying down, and he's almost always the big spoon, as he wraps his arms around your waist and his legs are intertwined with yours.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

I think he wants to settle down one day, but only after helping Yona to create a prosperous kingdom for you two (and maybe also for your children!) to live in. He's definitely capable of providing for you two: he knows how to cook, find supplies (hunting and fishing), he would even be able to build a small wooden house... However, I don't know how good he can be at cleaning (we also have to remember the period in which the manga/anime is set and Hak's social class)!

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Quick and frank. If he were to break up with you, he wouldn't mince words, but he would be very clear in letting you know he no longer loves you; in addition, his tone would be very moderate and he would apologize to you for the pain he's causing you.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

I think he plans to marry his partner if he's committed to a relationship, so he gives you all the time, love and affection he can. And, speaking of marriage, he would like to get married to you soon since he realized you're the one, but he first wants to help Yona to revive the kingdom; in fact, after having done that, he'll immediately propose to you.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Despite the many battles he fought, the many chaos and blood he saw, he's very gentle: his touches are delicate and soothing and he's never rough with you, both physically and psychologically. Furthermore, he always tries to moderate his words when he's with you for fear of hurting you emotionally, and he reassures you whenever you feel sad.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Hugs are his way of both showing affection and feeling like you're safe and sound in his arms, so he loves hugging you. His hugs feel like he's protecting you from all harm: they're tight, but also soft and sweet, and make you feel like you're wrapped in a blanket. He hugs you every time you or he feels the need, which happens very often, at least on his part: are you going to sleep? Hug. Are you feeling sad about something? Hug. You risked your life, but did you save yourself at the last minute? Funny of you not to assume he'll hold you for at least five minutes.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

He takes forever to tell you he loves you! First he wants to make sure he truly loves you, since he doesn't want to delude you, and you love him back too: indeed, he won't say it until you do first... Furthermore, his confession will be short, but still very sweet, and in private (even if Yona and the Dragons may be behind trees and bushes spying).

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?)

He doesn't get too much jealous, since he knows you're more than capable of fending off any unwanted suitors. Furthermore, he put a lot of trust into you. Despite that, though, he isn't above the occasional side eye, or the arm around your waist and the harsh tone if someone is getting a little too buddy buddy.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

In public, he almost never kisses you and, if he does it, his kiss is so light on your lips and quick sometimes you might not even notice it. In private, his kisses are slightly more feral, but on only one occasion they're truly passionate, that's if you're in a situation where you risked dying: the anxiety of having almost lost you is reflected in the kisses, which is like it's the end of the world.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

He's well liked by the children he grew up with and considered a big brother to many, so I can assume he's pretty good with them. However, in my opinion he prefers to be with slightly older children, like four or five years old and up, so he can do many more activities with them, such as simply teaching them to fight.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Mornings spent with him are pretty rare: most of the time you two don't really get to sleep in or even spend mornings together, after all you're very busy saving the kingdom and not getting captured by the guards. If it happens you two have the morning free, he'll make the most of it: he'll stay in bed (or rather, in the subspecies of sleeping bag you create with your cloaks) for a while to hug you, and then you'll spend the whole morning together, walking through the woods and looking for twigs to light the fire or berries for breakfast.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Nights with him alone are also almost impossible as either you keep moving, or you camp, but you've guard shifts, or stop at an inn to rest but you all stay in a group. If the first possibility happens, you walk together, talking about various topics and holding your hands; if the second happens, you take your guard shift together and cuddle; if the third happens, you sleep close.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

I think his openness about his past with you depends on what he tells you: he told you quite early on about his childhood with his grandfather and friends from the Wind Tribe, but he'll take a really long time to tell you about his relationship with Yona and Soo-Won, because he wants to wait to understand if you're the one he wants to spend the rest of his days with. Once he understands that, he'll gladly tell you about his past in full.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

He's one of the most patient people: it really takes a lot to make him angry and, if that happens, you don't notice it, because the most he does is tighten his tone and speak a little more sarcastically than usual. The main ways to make him angry are to insult or hurt you or Yona.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He's the king of remembering details you mention in passing: you may have told him just once and even in passing you like a certain thing, and years later he'll bring it up in a conversation ("Oh, by the way, do you know I saw bouquets of white camellias while I was walking in Awa? I got you one, since you told me you like them so much." "Did I tell you?" "Two and a half years ago, when your father gave you them for your birthday.").

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

His favorite memory is when you two had laid under the stars and talked about the future and living your life in the future; hearing you so passionate and optimistic, hearing your desires to live the rest of your life, get married and start a family with him gave him hope things would be okay.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Despite knowing and trusting you can defend yourself, he's still super protective of you, one of the few people he cares about in the world, and he would give everything to see you safe and protected: it's like having a bodyguard as a boyfriend. Literally. As for keeping him protected, I think the best way to do that is to remind him not to overdo himself, since he has the bad habit of overstepping his boundaries to protect both Yona and you (and the other Dragons and Yoon too).

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

On the outside, his dates are very simple (they generally consist of you two either walking together through the forests where you camp or taking turns on guard shift together), but he puts so much effort into so may aspects of those anything bigger would lose the personal touch they've; his gifts also appear very simple, but in reality they've great sentimental value, for instance a bouquet of the same flowers he gave you on the day of your meeting.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

His main bad habits are two: the first is his tendency to overwork himself without saying anything to anyone, and that makes you worry a lot; the second is being very attached and protective towards Yona, almost as much as he's towards you (of course, you know he loves you, but sometimes you've doubts...). With time, though, he grows out of the situations and realizes it isn't selfish to want the best for himself, and he also understands he must make you more aware you're the one he loves.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

I would like to write he doesn't care at all, but I think that's not true: he's concerned with his appearance, not that much, but enough to make himself decently presentable. He doesn't do it out of vanity, though, but just because he wants to be on your level (he always thinks you're truly beautiful, even in the morning with messy hair or with dark circles under your eyes after sleepless nights).

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

It depends: he feels he needs his space, so he wouldn't feel incomplete without you if you two are apart for a short time; nevertheless, if he has to spend a long time without you, he misses you so much and is likely to desperately seek your presence.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them)

I'm pretty sure he taught you some self-defense moves: as much as he doesn't want you to go to the front lines to fight, he wishes you to know how to defend yourself at least a little, also because he knows there might be moments when he can't protect you. If one day you knock someone out with one of the moves he taught you, he'll look at you with a proud and smug face.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?)

If there's one trait he doesn't want in his partner, it's malice: he would never forgive you if you treated others badly or did some evil action. Regarding other physical or character traits, he doesn't have great demands, although perhaps he wouldn't love a too weak partner, since he wants you to be at least a little able to protect yourself.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

As I wrote previously, you can't sleep for a long time but, for what little you can, he prefers doing it with you. Generally, he sleeps on his side while one arm wraps around your waist to keep you close to him and the other acts as a pillow; instead, your legs are intertwined.

💮 Rules 💮 Masterlist 💮

[gothhabiba]

a lot of places just want you to have A Degree which the claim is that it proves you have the ability to pick something + stick to it + stay on top of assignments and manage your time etc (tags left on this post about academia as a class barrier, via @seveneyesoup)

this is putting me in mind of the idea of the "accomplished" gentlewoman in 18th & 19th-century England: how a woman, to be worthy of installment in a heterosexual marriage as the mistress of a home, manager of servants, refuge for her husband (depending on the source of his money) from the harsh world of capital, & instiller of virtue in children, must herself demonstrate virtue and aptitude for certain tasks by collecting a train of accomplishments well before the time when she is no longer of marriagable age (say, mid-to-late twenties).

sometimes there is a direct link posited between the accomplishments she is meant to be obtaining and her ability to make a man a good wife (playing at the pianoforte means she may amuse him); sometimes the link is a bit less direct (maybe he'll like being surrounded by prettily designed tables and painted screens? given the Victorian moralisation of aesthetics & domestic decoration that could make sense); sometimes the reasoning is a bit circular (she may teach her daughters feminine accomplishments and thus enable them to make good wives); sometimes it's hypothesised that the point of all of this is to demonstrate genteel idleness ("look how much time I have to do things that are neither earning money nor immediately necessary to the running of the household").

but, though certain accomplishments were considered necessary for decades together (European languages, pianoforte playing or perhaps the harp, dancing), others (designing tables, netting purses, painting screens) went in and out of fashion, or even through what you might call fads. I remember reading one man in particular complain about how ugly Berlin wirework (a type of needlepoint / embroidery done on a wire frame) was, and how he hoped women would soon tire of it.

so sometimes the point of gaining an accomplishment when it may be considered very dated by the time you have daughters of an age to be taught anything is considered to be demonstrating an aptitude for things-doing, in general. shewing that you are patient, dedicated, quiet, good at managing time and exacting self-discipline, content to stay at home, capable of applying sustained concentration and physical effort to a task (that does not produce money and that, if it is 'fancy' work, may not produce anything necessary at all)...

these are the qualities, supposedly, that enable a woman to do the administrative & planning tasks required to run a household, emotionally support and/or submit to her husband, &c. 'moral' discipline is also necessary to the maintenance of the family as the unit of social reproduction along the lines of inheritance (that is, you want to marry a virginal woman to ensure that your children are 'yours').

& of course this is all economic—making oneself erotically desirable to a man of the appropriate class is the only way to preserve or advance one's rank / class status if one is not independently wealthy (or possessing of a sibling or something willing to support you).

this sort of pre-conditioning reminds me of the amount of social / military &c. disciplining that is required for a proper 'workforce' to be created (proletarianisation); a population must be broken of habits including a tendency to rest—to do things at unpredictable or inconvenient (for the owning class) times—to consult an almanac rather than a clock in deciding whether and when to go to work—or to fuck off for a while with no notice to go do seasonal work—if they are to be a viable source of factory labour.

so the idea of pre-disciplining—of a certain attitude towards time, labour, the self, and society being inculcated in people in order to suit them for a specific type of labour—as well as the idea of 'self-discipline' being a sort of muscle that disciplining the self can train, and whose strength can then be put to performing other tasks than the ones that first exercised it—is a common thread that runs through these different situations.

I think a full analysis of this would also have to explore the tension between the above 'self-discipline' and the mythicisation of the idleness of the Victorian bourgeois housewife (even as many of them really did perform many tasks around the home), as well as the tension between the supposed Very Extra Importance and Busy-ness and the actual lack of a time-discipline of the sorts of sinecures that having the right university degrees + knowing the right people can get you.

[inkwingsinc]

ok so about my lack of update. I got sidetracked writing about the nightmare horse (!!!!spoiler!!!!) and the other flesh gifts Feyd is going to give Laera. Harkonnen giftgiving traditions are atrocious, I've decided. Also I've re-written chap 21 like three times and I'm pretty sure some of my readers will unionize to beat my ass if I don't post eventually. ~tee hee~

Here, have some random headcanons related to BMGWMBGG because I'm deranged:

the Harkonnen tradition of offering "flesh gifts" to the bride is essentially the manifestation of that one post that's like "my love language is acts of service and all I know how to do is kill"

given that Geidi Prime has to pump groundwater since the planet has no oceans and little rainfall, there are likely thermal pools/natural springs somewhere in the Fortress. They function like bath houses, essentially. Feyd-Rautha visits them frequently.

the Harkonnen tradition of draping their brides in betrothal chains came from the practice of having to physically restrain their wives because uhhhhh they did not often consent to marriage. Now the chains are just brutally pretty jewelry, but in ye olden days Harkonnens would kidnap their brides caveman style

the ceremonial lyggal warpaint is mixed with human blood. often the wearer's

Harkonnen men totally get married half-naked covered in warpaint. How else is the bride supposed to take her blood rite if he's all covered up? :(

Geidi Prime has a renowned rave scene. Party drugs? Evil techno? That's basically Tuesday for the upper classes

Despite keeping appearance of the contrary, Feyd-Rautha is not a hedonist with all pleasures. He holds himself to the standard of a warrior and forces purity of mind and body so that he can feel superior to others. Baby boi deffo has an eating disorder and like six different hangups about eating in front of others. Violence is his chief vice but sex is a close second, so he's not a monk all the time...

Feyd-Rautha thinks it's just so charming that women have a menstrual cycle. oh his partner lifts her skirt? and she's already bleeding? it's like Christmas came twice.

Feyd-Rautha has met Princess Irulan on two occasions prior to Arrakis. He was buck-ass naked during their first meeting (I will not explain) and covered in blood for their second. The Baron offered Feyd as a marriage prospect to the Emperor's daughter both times. "isn't my nephew strong? isn't he capable? wouldn't you like to give him children?" *gestures to the horrible little man covered in blood*

Feyd-Rautha is freaked out by horses. It's the spindly legs...

Feyd-Rautha's favorite food is nutrient paste. I am not joking

[atopvisenyashill]

Something I noticed is that when Jaime and Cersei are in the tower of the Kingsguard and he refuses to have sex with her she belittles him saying "Oh, an angry cripple. How terrifying." She laughed. "A pity Lord Tywin Lannister never had a son. I could have been the heir he wanted, but I lacked the cock. And speaking of such, best tuck yours away, brother. It looks rather sad and small, hanging from your breeches like that."

Cersei is kinda..short minded?

Tywin did have two sons (Tyrion and Jaime)

Tywin would’ve never made her the heir because she lacked the composure needed

She says him crippled and angry don’t mean shit but he’s still Jaime, he could cuss at her, yell (which all are quite scary to people in relationship, when your partner yells you startle especially if they’ve been your dedicate lover) there’s also the possibility of physical harm but I don’t think he’d raise his hand on her.

Also she comments on his cock but thing is that he lost his boner due to her acting but she’s too full of herself to see it and just mock it when he’s likely on soft now.

She also dramatized three times (Tywin having no sons, Angry Cripple being not a threat when, Jaime’s cock)

Fun fact: you can also say that Jaime has canonically a big cock since we know Cersei don’t always say truths and disform them. Ladies move I’m trynna see something I too have a king that need slaying upon this reveal

Hmmmmm. Not sure I totally agree here.

I don't know that I've railed against it very much on here, but I think the short minded one is Tywin, not Cersei. He's known since Cersei was 15 that his only male heir is Tyrion, yet he's stubbornly insisted on claiming Jaime as his heir, which really means that for almost two decades, Casterly Rock had no acting heir because Tyrion wasn't allowed and Jaime refused the job. I think Tywin also could have named Tommen his heir instead but he doesn't take steps to do this either; he just blatantly ignores the problem. And this isn't just me being a Tywin hater - both Kevan and Genna say as much! Tywin is lord of casterly rock, and who it passes to is his responsibility but he continuously shirks it simply because he's stubborn and doesn't like any of his kids and that's not really Cersei's short sightedness at play there.

Not only that, but Cersei's "lack of composure" as you say isn't like, something she was born with, nor do I think she's any worse than Jaime or Tyrion or even Tywin on this front - Tywin's rather vicious anger and shame issues stack up a significant amount of problems for him over the course of the book, Jaime is outwardly hostile very often, and Tyrion is, in his own words, Tywin writ small and thus has similar issues with having a quite vicious temper and propensity for acting violent when shamed. I don't think Cersei's paranoia is any worse than the issues the men in her family have. Further, I think Cersei's paranoia is both a) perfectly rationally founded and b) something she could easily be trained out of. Regarding the second point it's like...Catelyn is very capable but she's capable because she was given the training and education befitting of an heiress. Arianne is capable for the same reasons. Margaery is capable because she has dozens of female family members to support her and sharpen her intelligence so she can put it to good use. Cersei was given none of that by Tywin and certainly isn't given any of that by Robert; everyone loves to whack her for being an idiot but she was never taught so how is she supposed to know? And the thing is that like. The Tyrells are trying to oust her and Tywin was trying to marry her off and Robert was viciously abusing her and someone just murdered her son after a witch told her that her children would die and drove her crazy as a child.

So like...yeah Cersei is crazy, she's evil, she's insane, but also she's right that the only reason Tywin doesn't name her (or Tommen for that matter) as his heir is because she's a woman.

And like, to be honest, I don't think she would treat him any differently if he was pissing her off and he had a hand. I think it's pretty clear that the two of them have a deeply dysfunctional, sexually violent relationship on both ends and it would not surprise me in the slightest if there was some physical abuse from Cersei's end that Jaime just kinda lets happen because like, what is she really going to do to him lol as you say, he's one of the most skilled fighters alive. I don't think she's ever been afraid of him hurting her and while certainly I think it's not unlikely he has sexually abused her and perhaps gotten physically aggressive with her, I don't think Jaime would ever straight up slap her because he's supposed to be The Good One when compared to Robert - and Cersei does note to Ned that Robert never physically abused her around Jaime, so I think it's clearly something Jaime finds distasteful. I don't know that it can be considered short sighted to get into an argument with your lover/sibling and I'm positive those two had some big blowouts where they got physical with each other before.

The three dramatizing is fun though - there's a lot of threes in that family. Three living older Lannisters, three middle aged Lannisters, Cersei has three children, and I believe (i might be wrong) that it's the third time Tywin calls Tysha a whore that Tyrion finally kills him. I bet if you dig in, there's probably a lot of three patterns in the Lannister story, and that's interesting because of the whole three heads of the dragon thing. I'm not super into the idea of tyrion riding a dragon, nor do I buy that the twins are secretly Aerys' kids BUT there's something interesting in it popping up so much in their narrative; something about like, the Lannisters trying to emulate the Targaryens and accidentally emulating some sort of old prophecy there is fascinating to me.

[fantomefawn]

Barely Tolerable

The harringrove pride and prejudice au begins

So here we go…. The pride and prejudice au that I’ve been working on. I initially planned on finishing the whole thing before posting but honestly with. Urn out I just lost momentum. I’m hoping just having it out there will help me gain motivation again….

It’ll be on AO3 as well.

If you like it thanks. If you don’t… oh well? I’m not writing it for you. I’m writing it because I have an unhealthy obsession with both p&p and Harringrove lmfao. It is ABO just a heads up.

That being said…. Here we go…

Barely Tolerable

Chapter 1: Gasp

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single Alpha in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a mate.

Even though little can be known about the feelings or actual views of such an Alpha when they have entered a new neighborhood, this concept is fixed so firmly in the minds of the surrounding families the Alpha in question is often considered the rightful property of someone and their omegan children or even of a more than hopeful Beta.

~

Mrs. Harrington considered herself very capable and somewhat sly and when it came to matters involving manipulating her husband, she generally refused to pull her children in on the task. However, this current undertaking was causing her undue stress and while she would rather not have to use her children as a means to an end for it, she would eventually let them in on her plans if she must.

“My Dear,” she began her tone was syrupy and gentle, as her hand inched toward her husband’s arm to gain his attentions, “have you heard that Cherry Lane has been rented out finally?”

There was a deep sigh that filled the whole of the room.

“No, Dearest. I hadn’t heard.” He found his eyes wandering from his book toward the ceiling. He wished more often than not he had married someone perhaps less beautiful and less manipulative and perhaps someone who could not still use their wiles after five nearly grown children together. This was not his lot in life however and that meant he was left currently trying in vain to avoid her eyes. The Omegan wiles were still there even if they were aging and annoyed him just as often as they worked.

“Well it has. Mrs. Henderson came to visit me today and she told me all about it!”

There was not even a sigh in response this time. Mrs. Harrington was a person who found silence abrasive and suffocating, and she especially couldn’t stand it when her husband was helping create it. She didn’t care much that they were in his study where he sought refuge from any and all noise, excepting of course his favorite child.

His attempts at a silent avoidant retreat would not work, she would not be out done in stubbornness.

“Don’t you want to know by who?” His wife’s impatience would only cause him misery if he allowed it to grow. He and his book were resigned to their fate of being parted. This resignation yielded yet another sigh.

“Not particularly,” he looked at her finally a tired slope to his body reflecting he had conceded in this battle, “However it seems you want to tell me, and I have no objections to hearing you.”

It was only half a lie.

She rubbed at his hand and gave him a pretty smile as a reward for giving in to her so quickly and she took the invitation for what it was.

“Mrs. Henderson told me that it is being rented by a young Alpha of a large fortune from west of Indiana. She came down on Monday to tour the place and she fell in love with it. She came to agreement with Mr. Clark immediately and she will move in just before Michaelmas. Her servants will be here by the end of next week to get things in order.”

“What is her name?”

“Cunningham.” She traced over his hair, happily indulging him in physical affections for being so willing to keep interest.

“Is she married or single?” She gave him a flat look, obviously think that was a dumb question.

“Single of course! A single Alpha of good wealth! Four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our children.” She was preening like a peacock over her assumed good fortune for the future of her children. Her husband though enjoying her attentions had no problem with ending that for her right then and there. He straightened and with firm eye contact and raised brows asked her a question.

“How so? How can this possibly affect them?” It was her turn to be exasperated by her mate and she huffed out a breathe to let him know how he’d displeased her.

“Robert, must you be so tiresome? I know you are aware that I mean she should marry one of them.” He did live to vex her. It was one of his favorite pastimes even if he wouldn’t admit it out loud. He took great pleasure in mocking nearly everyone though, so it wasn’t just her that was his target. She was however one of his most favored.

“Oh! So that’s her reasoning for moving here then? She is looking for her mate?” He lived for the sound of her deep aggravated outbursts.

“It is very likely for her to fall in love with one of them! I insist that you go to meet and introduce yourself to her when she arrives. It is only proper.” Her face was set sternly but he could very rarely take her seriously as he did view her an exceedingly silly woman.

“I don’t see a reason for it honestly. You and the kids can go or better, yet you can send them by themselves since it might save Ms. Cunningham the devastation of falling for your beauty. Since you are just as lovely as any of our children, she might find she likes you best.” Natalie Harrington let herself be flattered even if she was aware he was doing just that, flattering her.

She slid on to his lap firmly if only to further help convince him.

“My darling Husband, you flatter me. While I have had the absolute pleasure of having all my share of beauty, I don’t pretend it’s still in the realm of extraordinary. When an Omega has five grown omegan children to think of, its best to divorce oneself from so much vanity.” While Robert agreed with her there, he did find the irony in it, since she most certainly had not divorced herself from any vanity over the years. He was begrudging in acknowledgement that even as she got older, he was lucky and her looks truly hadn’t diminished very much. She still cut a rather elegant looking figure and face.

“Natalie, in those cases I assure you the omega doesn’t have much beauty to begin with.” She played with the fabric at his sleeves and pursed her lips.

“Robert you really do need to go see Ms. Cunningham when she comes into town. It’s only right.”

“It is truly more than I intend to do I assure you.”

“Consider your kids, please. Consider what a mating like it would be like for them and what it would mean for the rest of the family. Sir James Hopper and Lady Joyce Hopper are determined to go just for that fact alone. You know they never seek out any newcomers. You have to go. You know we can’t visit her if you haven’t. Imagine the scandal. You would ruin your children. What if I was silly enough to do as you said?”

“You are certainly attentive to your cause. You know I’m sure Ms. Cunningham will be very pleased to see you, in fact how about I send you with a letter? Just a few lines assuring her that she has my heartfelt and glad consent for her to marry any of my children if she wishes. Though you know I have to put in a good word for my little Steve.” She grew vexed at his teasing especially when Steve was brought up.

“You’ll do no such thing. Steve isn’t a bit better than any of the others. He is not nearly and beautiful as Robin or even half as good humored as Angela is and yet for some reason you are always giving him the preference.” Robert was a bit miffed at that.

Steven was his favorite, and he wasn’t shy about his preference, and while perhaps at his birth he’d been a bit disappointed by his not being an Alpha after his first born hadn’t been born an heir, he found very quickly his heart was owned by him. The child of his very soul. Steven was a strangely perfect mix of five separate people who he held in high esteem for one thing or another. It was strange to him his wife held no preference when two of those people were his wife’s own parents, her very self-seen in his looks. He was not afraid to admit the likeness Steve held to his own Alpha mother; his own favored parent really made him immeasurably soft toward his second child.

“None of the others have much to recommend them, except for perhaps Robin. The rest are silly, vain and ignorant like other omegas. Stevie has a quickness and sense of humor about him that none of the others possess.” She shook her head in irritation.

“How can you abuse your children like that? You find too much joy in irritating me.” He certainly couldn’t deny that.

“You cannot possibly comprehend how much you make me suffer.”

“I hope you find a way to get over it, my dear, and that you live to see at least twenty young Alphas of wealth come into the neighborhood.”

“I certainly don’t know why you would wish that since you won’t visit them.”

“Oh, no need to worry about that. If we suddenly get an influx of twenty Alphas, I will visit every single one. ”

Mr. Harrington was a strange mixture of quick parts, sarcastic almost caustic humor, reserve and mercurial temperament that even twenty-three years later into their marriage Natalie still couldn’t understand him much of the time. She was less difficult to understand, she was a cold beauty, and while she wasn’t perhaps as smart as her husband, she was still a fierce thing to behold with an uncertain temper. She often considered herself nervous, which she put down to the the fact that at this juncture in her life, all she could think about was getting her children all married off. Any reprieve to be found was in having visits with her friends and gossip. She was known for having a keen mind and ability for getting information.

Mrs. Harrington would not put it past her husband to try and find a way out of this meeting, but she was determined to convince him to be out their door and marching toward Cherry Lane as quick as possible.

~

The sound of his younger sister’s piano filled Steven Harrington’s ears as he was closing in on his house nearing the end of the current chapter in the novel he was currently reading. The walk had been perfect, warm, breezy and sun-dappled like a painting. He put his bookmark, a wide faded piece of embroidered linen, in it and closed the book as he was rounded the corner, servants were doing the laundry which he knew would smell like sunshine later. He rubbed his thumb across the cover of his book satisfied with where his story currently was and as he came up the set stairs at one of the entrances to his home, he paused staring through the window in amusement as he saw and heard his parents squabbling. He couldn’t tell what they were saying but he could hear Robin yelling out chastisements toward their youngest two siblings in the background which was just barely louder than their aggressive giggling. Though there was a year between them they were so intensely bonded like that of a person and their shadow they were often referenced as twins. Steve shook his head and crossed the threshold into his home and before he could get closer to another set of stairs to go to his room where he intended to grab some extra paper for a letter, he came across his giggling youngest siblings with their bodies pressed near the entrance to their father’s study, the door only just ajar, listening in on their parents.

He immediately grasped at the back of clothes and tugged to get their attention,

“Angie, Dustin what have I told you about listening at the door?” Steve was incensed as the two kept up their quiet but undoubtedly giddy behavior.

Angela scoffed briefly at him and swatted back at his hand before cheerfully responding,

“Who cares about that Stevie? Someone, an Alpha, has finally rented Cherry Lane!”

Dustin who was barely older than Angela and more like her shadow immediately piped in,

“Ms. Cunningham from the West, she has 5,000 a year!” Steve let go of Angela’s skirt in shock.

“Really?” Steve couldn’t help himself as tried to look over the two of them to see his parents talking. The pair quietly squealing in unison that she was single made him give way back into an amused smirk.

“Who’s single?”

Steven grinned down at Robin who had come around the corner at his side before turning his face back toward his parents and whispering to her,

“A Ms. Cunningham apparently.” Steve was annoyed and amused in equal measure as Dustin shushed him and rolled his eyes at Robin who gave him a look of commiseration.

“Mr. Harrington, you must go and visit her. Welcome her into the neighborhood.”

The children all watched as their father seemed to move in near circles around his wife whilst asking her,

“How can it possibly affect them if I go and visit Ms. Cunningham?” They all heard rather than see their mother stamping her foot.

“How can you possibly be so tiresome and annoying? I’m hoping she might marry one of them. I sincerely doubt I could have been all that much clearer about it especially since this isn’t the first conversation, we are having about this.” Mr. Harrington didn’t even make direct eye contact with his wife, but he did arch his brow in her direction.

“Oh! So that is her design in moving here?” The sarcasm was a viscous poison as it dripped from his mouth. As he made his way toward the other door to his office to leave his wife huffed and pursed her lips making haste to follow behind him.

“You have to go as soon as possible to introduce yourself!” Her urging was louder still as their father opened the door more swiftly and came across all but one of his children. He was exasperated but still managed a fairly entertained expression as he made eye contact with Steve.

“Goodness. So many people.” He tutted as he made his way into one of the sitting rooms his remaining child was practicing her piano in with a book, he would no doubt have no opportunity to read as the rest of his offspring and wife moved in behind him. Before he could manage to sit down in a chair his wife and his two youngest were talking over each other in their haste to convince him he needed to introduce himself and earning them the acquaintanceship of Ms. Cunningham.

“Robert Harrington, you know good and well we cannot visit if you haven’t!”

“Papa! Are you listening? You never listen!”

“Please Papa!”

“As soon as possible Robert, I mean it!”

Dustin who was simply overcome with excitement over the prospects of what could happen with this new mysterious outcome spoke directly to his mother.

“Mama, its fine even if he doesn’t visit her right? I heard you say that Mrs. Henderson promised to introduce us at the next party!” Natalie gave him a rather severe stink eye.

“I sincerely doubt Mrs. Henderson will do any such thing. She has some omega nephews of her own to concern herself with. She’s selfish, hypocritical and uncharitable,” Mrs. Harrington’s pretty face set itself into a sneer, “I have no good opinion of her. I need you all to remember that there are very few Alphas of large fortune in this world and more than plenty of pretty omegas who deserve them.”

“Well, I can’t say I have a better opinion of her,” Robert’s face was flat as he gazed into his wife’s eyes, “But i’m glad you won't depend on her uncharitable heart and selfish ways to help you.” This was of course a mistake on his part and after moments pause shrieks erupted again.

“When is the next ball?” His eyes were made contact with Angela but before she could answer Dustin had beaten her to it,

“In Two weeks!”

“See Robert! That isn’t enough time! Mrs. Henderson won’t be back until the day before. She can’t possibly introduce us when she won't have met her either.” This statement drew half of his family back into a tizzy, the loudest among them his youngest daughter and son and his very own wife.

Robert Harrington sighed deeply as he sat down heavily in his chair, all of the commotion had made his middle child Nancy finally pull herself away from the black and white keys in bewilderment. He watched and his favored eldest children sat calmly with cheerful expressions on their faces on the couch.

“My Dear, I think you can have the advantage over your friend and maybe you can introduce Ms. Cunningham to her.” Natalie threw her head back with exhaled frustration.

“Tell me how I am to do that when you I have not been aquatinted with Ms. Cunningham and you will not go visit her to make the acquaintance?”

“To be sure two weeks isn’t much time I grant you. You can’t truly the makings of an Alpha in just two weeks. Still, it will have to do,” he gave a insincerely sheepish grin toward his wife, “ Mrs. Henderson and her nephews simply must have their chance and given that she will take it as a kindness if you decline her the introduction I will simply have to offer it up myself.”

His children merely stared at him, while his wife wiped her hands in agitation and exasperation down her face.

“Nonsense. All you do is speak such nonsense.”

“Now what could you possibly mean by that,” his cheeky grin was sure to drive his wife insane as she was clearly at her wits end, “Do you consider it stressful to be the one introducing others? I don’t think I can agree with you there.” Natalie lifted her hands and choked the air in front of her in frustration and her husband triumphed in his teasing of her just grinned.

“I am sick of talking about Ms. Cunningham,” his wife declared firmly, so tender in her vexation, the topic having thoroughly drained her.

“Well, that will make an acquaintanceship very awkward, Natalie I wish you’d told me that earlier.” The glare in his direction was caustic and fiery and he basked in it.

“What acquaintanceship? You won’t go and visit her!”

“Well, there is no need for me to go and visit Ms. Cunningham, since I already have.” Excited gasps filled the room as his sillier children starting flitting and dancing around the room in joy. Nancy and his Wife were in total confusion. Robin was excited but remained composed and his favorite child Steve was laughing at everything going on.

“Robert, I swear you have no compassion for my nerves! Why do you insist on teasing me at every turn?”

“No my dearest, you are incorrect, I am very fond of those nerves of yours. They have been my nearest and dearest friends these last twenty years!” Steve barked out a laugh as Angela admonished her father for speaking in such a way to her preferred parent.

“Seriously Robert… is she likable?” His wife had an eager look on her face before his youngest darted forward swishing her skirts as she danced toward him.

“Is she handsome Papa?”

“Who?” Nancy was finally trying to demand knowledge of what everyone around them was speaking of.

Angela made her way back to Dustin and grasped his hands, “Oh I am sure she is going to be breathtakingly beautiful.” Dustin squeezed her hands back as he let out a giddy laugh himself as his sister then insisted on continuing her twirling.

“Who?”

“At 5,000 a year it wouldn’t matter if she had warts and a leer.” Steve felt his mother’s reprimanding glare on him for his commentary before she crossed further into the room and closer to his father.

“Who has warts?”

“I will give my most welcome consent for her to marry any of my children should she choose them.” He smiled in sweet way at all his family.

Angela sat on the floor directly in front of him and in a surprisingly earnest way asked him, “So will she come to the next ball, Papa?” Robert looked at his youngest taking in her eager hope and hummed first in response.

Mr. Harrington nodded as if in thought and let the anticipation rise in the room before he graced them with an answer.

“I do believe she will be, yes.” In an instant there was excited shrieking. Robin shook her head at the silliness of of the youngest among them while Steven laughed as he got more comfortable on the couch before turning and leaning his chin on the back to watch as Dustin and Angela spun Robin around in dizzying circles as they attempted to bargain for things to borrow and her help for the ball. Robin was being far too indulgent with them, but it certainly provided Steve entertainment. It surprised him that it was his mother that interrupted their swinging of their elder sister.

“Oh Angela, sweetheart I know you are the youngest but don’t worry! I am sure Ms. Cunningham will dance with you.” Natalie was all smiles for one of her favored children.

Angela was all unearned pride as she answered, “I am not in the least bit concerned. I may be the youngest, but I am the best of us all.” Dustin was the only one who took true offense. Steven and Robin just rolled their eyes just to their sister’s antics.

“Will someone tell me what we are all talking about?” Mrs. Harrington was all exasperation toward Nancy as she ended the kiss with her husband to chastise her.

“Honestly Nancy, you ought to pay more attention.” Nancy looked apoplectic. Steve sighed and gestured for her to sit down beside him and the now lightheaded Robin. He grasped a pair of shoes and embroidery thread laid across the table where he’d abandoned them earlier and and he prepared to tell Nancy everything she’d missed as he started to sew the thread into the half-finished design.

“I’ll fill you in, just come sit down.”

Robert Harrington stared at his son stitching evenly into the shoes as Nancy peppered him with questions before he even had gotten a chance to speak, and his heart ached with fondness.

“I hope Ms. Cunningham likes them, Steve.”

His son’s response was a radiant smile beaming his way before he finally cut Nancy’s off.

~

“Please, please please,” the pleading was annoying him greatly, “Please, Steve you promised! Please teach us how to make love potions. The ball is two weeks, you have to help us!” Robin was snickering at him from where she sat watching as the youngest two poked and prodded at him. The traitor.

Right now, he had no clue because she was his favorite. He was quickly reminded when all of sudden the superior voice of their middle sibling rose to attention in their ears, and he had someone to look at in commiseration.

“You shouldn’t encourage such things Steven. It’s all silliness and no self respecting person would make a love potion. It isn’t even real.”

“First off, I wouldn’t teach them how to make a love potions, I never promised that. I wouldn’t know how. That would probably be Mama given how much she wants us all married off as quickly as possible. Secondly, who made you the authority of what’s real or not, Nance? Please do try to remember they are just kids, and they are allowed to have fun. I’d teach them little charms just like Mama taught me and Robin when we were little kids. It’s all in good fun. You know having some of it doesn’t mean you can’t be a self-respecting person. I know that no one would accuse you of testing out that particular hypothesis, but I assure you that I have.”

Normally Steve tried his best to deal with Nancy’s self-righteousness with as much grace as he was able, but she did love to make it difficult for him. Robin was much better tempered with her even if Steven didn’t really lose his temper with her too often.

Nancy pursed her lips, a fire rising in her at the slight but before she could bring herself to say something she was clenching her hands into fists at her elder brother’s eye roll and head shake. Her face reddened and everyone could sense the rage building in her bird like frame.

Robin gave him a look and surprisingly even the younger two were quiet, but they did tend to be in the rare moments Steve gave one of them a true dressing down, he wished that quality would last forever. It was rare for anyone to be scolded by him since he was generally so easy going, cheerful, and always ready for a laugh. He took more after his father with his sarcastic quick quips and teasing.

Nancy was far more likely to take someone to task even if it didn’t carry much weight.

Nancy was not a person who took criticism well, but she happy to often be the one to dole it out as well as bits of commentary she felt showed off how ‘wise’ she was. She was a someone who felt she was always right, an authority of most subjects and was bull headed enough to never listen to anyone else or take another’s opinion into consideration. She was frightfully jealous and while she strived to be seen as ingenious, she often fell short. She was easily slighted and superior with a need to command attention for all the things she felt she was accomplished in. While she would deny it profusely, she desired to be the center of attention. She was lacking in self-awareness and common sense in many regards.

Steve often felt she was the living embodiment of a misguided lecture.

While he could appreciate her dedication in all her chosen hobbies he struggled with her constant need to sermonize at everyone and how inappropriate she could be with it.

He begged the universe to have patience with her, a patience that shouldn’t even be difficult given she wasn’t even the sibling that drove him the craziest. Angela held that crown steadily.

Steve felt the weight of Robin’s eyes on him and sighed and tried his best to remember that Nancy was still a kid and for all her faults he did love her even if he perhaps didn’t always like her.

“I’m sorry Nancy, why don’t you come in and join in? I’m sure you’d enjoy it if you gave it all a chance. It’s just silly fun. It isn’t anything serious.”

“Are you serious?” She dipped her head and looked him both brows raised in incredulous derision. The silence wrung out as Steve counted to ten mentally, Robin’s eyes begging him to not to escalate this.

He said nothing.

“I have better things to do. Reading for instance. Someone in this family has to have decent character and you’ve all left that job solely to me.” She was swift in her exit her nose in the air.

Steven shook his head getting rid of the invisible ichor her threadbare morality left in the air.

“Okay! Go outside and grab some pansies,” Steve prodded Angela and Dustin to unfurl from where they leaned into his sides, “come on let’s get going. I’ll tell you your fortune, but I won't wait around to do it forever.” His siblings were giggling as the ran to leave for the garden.

Robin stared at him with amusement, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” He furrowed his brow for only a second before yelling at the kids, “Bring back some apples as well!”

They shouted an affirmative.

“They are going to be convinced you’re telling them the truth.” Steve shrugged at his older sister.

“Why can’t things just be fun?”

Robin’s expression was heavy and flat at it settled on his face.

“Mama named me Robin because of these silly little charms and superstitions.”

“Ah, yes,” Steven straightened up and cleared his throat before taking on a mocking falsetto, “A robin singing on the sill of a window predicts happiness in love and one who builds a nest near your home means good luck for anyone who lives there! Well, my dears I knew I had to name you Robin for those things happened right before I found myself pregnant with you.”

Robin rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Now she hangs all her hopes and wishes on me, all because I’m a fortune come true apparently.”

“Maybe you are all her hopes and wishes come true Bobbin. You are her favorite, even more than Angie.” They both let the words sink into the air around them before shaking their heads.

“An alpha child. That would be all her wishes and hopes come true.” They said this in unison before cracking up.

“Stop all that laughing,” the twins came rounding the corner into the room, Angie clutching dirtied pansies in her hands and Dustin attempting to juggle apples in his arms, “This is serious business! It’s time to tell our futures.” Angela threw the flowers onto the tables and flounced onto the settee next to him.

Robin caught his eye and once more they were laughing. The dual shrieks did nothing to help them stop.

Eventually they calmed down and Steve in all his red-faced teary-eyed glory croaked out an,

“Alright! Alright! Choose one flower each and for your fortune come sit next to me so I can help you read it.”

Angela promptly shoved a yellow and red blossom into his face while the other two had fun choosing their from the bunch on the table.

Steve sputtered and jerked his head back as it nearly went into his mouth before sighing and taking it out of her hand. He touched each velvet petal carefully and counted each line on them and was actually a bit discomforted by the fortune he was to give his littlest sister. He never assumed to reach such things in the flower.

“Listen Angel Fish, remember it's all just a bit of fun,” he looked at her hesitating whilst she looked him in all eagerness, “When you read a fortune from a Pansy you look at their petals and you count the lines that lay on them.” He drew the flower closer to her so she could look as he tapped at the petals.

“Well Stevie, what do they mean? What is my fortune”

“You have five lines here,” he tapped gently at a slightly bedraggled flower petal, “there is trouble ahead but you will overcome it and this one next to it has eight lines so you will have a fickle sweetheart.” Angela’s face was screwed up in distaste.

“This one has four lines though and it means your wish will come true!” She looked at him like he was an idiot.

“Either you’re reading it wrong or Nancy is right and this stuff is dumb. How can my wish be coming true if I have to overcome something and my love will be fickle?”

Steve shrugged at her not sure what to tell her even as the whole thing made him feel a bit sour. He would not mention the other petal that held six lines indicating a surprise was in store.

“It’s just silly fun Angie, you aren’t supposed to take it seriously. Besides we still have to see what’s going on with the apple.” She nodded at him though she was not fully satisfied.

“Me next! Come on Ange, move over stop hogging Steve please,” Dustin was poking at his younger sister heartily until she finally relented and moved with a huff her blonde locks hitting Dustin in the face. Robin was just staring at Steve rather thoughtfully having cottoned on to his discomfort.

Dustin was much gentler in his handling of the pink blossom in his hand, and he moved into his brother snuggling into his much taller frame leaning his head into arm to look at the lines with him.

“Okay, Dust Bunny let's take a look,” he hummed as he counted all the lines and was just as shocked by his little brother's fortune as he had been for his little sisters, “Wow, Dustin! Yours is interesting as well. Every single petal has 9 lines running through it. That means you’ll go over water to get married and a bunch of them have the longest line running smack dab in the center. Make sure when you announce your engagement you do it on a Sunday.”

Dustin pulled back from his brother and with it his flower and just stared at it in contentment.

“A Sunday.” Dustin was so serious and very nearly reverent when he said it that Steve and Robin had a hard time not laughing but somehow managed to keep it to a smile.

Robin got up and twirled own blue blossom against his nose eliciting a laugh front he tickle it caused. He gently grasped the blossom and as carefully as he did with his other siblings counted their lines.

“My, my, my… I am just ever so shocked Robin. Four lines,” he looked at her mouth open in mock surprise, “Your wish is bound to come true.” Robin swatted at him laughing.

“Alright you smart Alec, what else?” Steve tickled her at her waist causing to her to laugh and flint away from him.

“Honestly Rob, most of your petals had 4 lines, you are just destined to be lucky in love I suppose.” A faux long-suffering sigh left him as he fluttered his eyelashes in mock envy.

“Hmm,” she gave him a screwed look before attacking him in her own tickle fit practically laying on him as he giggled and squirmed, “You said most, out with-it Stevie darling! Am I to marry a man with warts and no fortune? Will he be cursed to only speak in riddles? What am I to suffer in my marriage?”

The younger set were snuggled together like puppies laughing at their antics.

“Eight lines! You are cursed like our little sister your sweetheart will be fickle.” Robin let out a long-suffering sigh, and Steve wondered if he got that habit from her as she lay more firmly on him winding her thin arms around him.

“Well don’t tell Mama, all her hopes and dreams just dashed right there.” Steve snorted at her declaration.

“Steve it's your turn! Don’t you want to know your fortune.” Steve looked at the light purple flower that lay lone on the table and made a face.

“Ugh that would be so much work to get it.”

“Ah, it must be a changeling! Steve would never say something like that. Steven Harrington who walks all day and every day. A changeling child indeed.”

“I won't move Robin just to read my own fortune. Count out the lines for me one of you.”

He gripped Robin even tighter to make his point while Angela rolled her eyes and sat more firmly into her seat. Dustin was the only one with any true curiosity out of the two, so he was the one he grasped the left-over blossom in front of them.

“Six! Seven and four.” He hummed in acknowledgement.

“So, I too will have a wish come true, a surprise is on its way and my love will be will faithful.”

“Clearly,” Angela’s voice was resolute, “That was supposed to be my flower and that is very obviously my fortune.” Steve and Robin rolled their eyes but left it alone.

“Well, what about the apples?” He looked over at Dustin who was eyeing them hungrily.

“Perhaps Bobbin and I were just peckish.” He received twin looks of annoyance.

“Fine, fine. Take away all my fun. I want you to each take one of the apples and peel the skin off without any breaks. You want a nice long peel.” Robin had only sunk into her further and they were practically combined with little chance at separation. Angela and Dustin willingly untangled themselves and did as their brother instructed.

“Once you have the whole peel, I want you to take it with your right hand toss it over your left shoulder.” They gave each other skeptical looks at they continue peeling but did as they were told once finished, giggling as they tossed the long-wet curls over their shoulders, each landing with a soft noise that they pretended made them feel gross.

Steve and Robin, moving as though they were one being instead of two separate individuals, raised themselves together refusing to untangle, and took a look.

“Well, it’s a good thing you guys chose different colors since you did it at the same time. Which one of you had a pink apple?” Dustin perked up quickly at the question.

“Me! I wanted it to match my pansy!” He was up standing next to her eldest siblings in a split second his air matching that of a puppy trying to stay still for his owner.

“Good look on trying to figure that one out Steve. I cannot make heads or tails of what that’s supposed to look like.” Steve winced because Robin was right. It was not the shape of a letter.

“Dust Bunny, I am afraid your sweetheart is not solidified yet. That shape looks like a… tangle.” He slumped for a moment his hopefulness somewhat dashed before he perked back up.

“Maybe it means it’s a strong love! Because we will tie the knot,” Dustin nodded to himself emphatically, “Yes! That must be it. Steve, you’ve told us about invisible strings right, what if it's just proof, you’re right about all of it.”

“He’s right little Stevie, you have in fact told us all about invisible red strings of fate and how we all have these lovely, destined soulmates.”

“Oh, you make me sound so dumb and so much less practical than I really am,” Steve was laughing however unashamed that he was a dreamy as he was pragmatic, and he sometimes longed for the days where it was just Robin and Steve watching fireflies as babies and thinking they’d seen faeries. When their mother and father, both told them tales of other worlds and divining the future. Their father was still cheeky and fun, but it was different back then. So was his mother.

In his minds eye he could see it clear as day, late summer evenings when the air was cooling down and the colors of sky were blending colors and there was still light, just enough light out to shower the world in a golden glow. His mother spinning in circles with them and making flower crowns, catching fireflies and telling them stories of magic and faeries, of witches and ogres and mermaid. Making paper fortune tellers and showing them carefully how to make their own.

“Well Angel fish I must say... you have a bunch of looping letters I see an ‘h’ and I see a ‘t’ and maybe a ‘g’. I have no clue who you may end up with especially because you have three that I can see, and it isn’t indicative of first or last name. It seems perhaps, your pansy was correct, and you are in for a surprise. One even we can’t predict.”

Angela was annoyed to say the least and it was apparent.

They all drank tea to dampen their scents as was considered proper for Omegas, but her annoyance was so strong the scent of it was enough to make Steve wrinkle his nose.

“How boring! At this rate, I ought to have just picked daisy petals,” She threw her own flower to ground before sitting back dramatically down on the couch again, “Steve, you have to help me embroider my shoes for the ball. I have to be the most fashionable there.”

“Angela… all of your shoes are already embroidered.”

“I’m going to buy new ones obviously.” Steve refused to give her an answer and instead without even looking at Robin, he addressed her.

“Bobbin lets go for a walk; I’m starting to get a headache.”

Robin pursed her lips hiding a smile because she knew full well who the headache was.

“Of course, Stevie.” She detangled herself just enough to make the walk easier and looped her arm through his and they made their way outside leaving Angela huffing away in the background, no doubt getting ready to complain to their mother.

~

It seemed that over the course of the next day it didn’t matter how much Mrs. Harrington, or their children tried to wheedle information out of him, Mr. Harrington wouldn’t be compelled to give them any decent details about Ms. Cunningham.

All of them strategized attacking him in multiple ways, including outright bold questions, sly hypothesis he was welcome to correct, and clever little workings peppered wherever they could find a place for them. He would not be compelled. He was so painfully immovable and even more painfully good at pretending he was too dumb to understand what they meant.

Not even Steve could sway him, which was a sore spot for the rest of them as they had been relying on him folding like a deck of cards for Steve.

Eventually mostly all of them graduated from trying to gain anything from him and took any secondhand knowledge they could glean from Lady Joyce Hopper.

Sir James, she had let them know, had been very impressed by her. She was young, wonderfully pretty, very agreeable and seemingly kindhearted. She was good humored and intended to bring a large party of people with her at the ball.

There was nothing more delightful to hear as far as Mrs. Harrington was concerned. To be fond of dancing was clearly a step toward falling in love. There were hopes in the minds of the whole town that her heart would be secured by one of of the many Omegas and Betas in town.

“You know if I can just see one our children married and settled down at Cherry Lane,” Natalie told Robert as she brushed her hair getting ready for bed that night, “and all the others just as well settled, I don’t think I would have anything else to wish for.”

Mr. Harrington did not think that was possible regardless of how well all his children married.

~

A few days later Ms. Cunningham had apparently paid Mr. Harrington visit and sat with him in his library for the span of about ten minutes. Of course, Mr. Harrington had planned it for a time that wife and children would be gone, lest they meet and end all his amusement.

The visit itself was not particularly great. Mr. Harrington being determined to keep having his fun bordered on rude, nervous that today would be the day his wife and children would come home sooner than expected.

Ms. Cunningham had come with the hopes of meeting the famous Harrington Omegas, of whom she’d heard nothing but wonderful things about. She heard over and over how beautiful they were and kind and intelligent, so she was more than a little disappointed that they were not home, and she was only to deal with their father. He came across as a bit austere given that he hadn’t seemed much interested in keeping a conversation going. Manners had dictated over the years that these sorts of visits lasted at least fifteen minutes before perhaps an introduction was to be made. Even without introduction fifteen minutes was the standard, so it was a bit of an affront that it lasted only ten. She knew it was under his discretion she might be the rest of his family given that he was their Alpha but still she felt it was a bit misleading and lacking in decorum however she was a forgiving sort, so she didn’t hold it against him.

It was a shame though; she really had wanted to meet the rest of the Harrington’s she’d heard so much about.

The Harrington siblings however were at the worst disadvantage being unable to even catch a glimpse at what she was like.

Mrs. Harrington while lamenting their poor fortune and grieving over such a husband, immediately dispatched an invitation to dine with them. She wasted no time in planning the courses, but it was to no avail. She received word back that Ms. Cunningham would be unable to do dinner with them as she was to be in Nevada the next day and simply couldn’t accept the honor of their invitation.

Natalie was instantly annoyed by this. She couldn’t possibly imagine what business Ms. Cunningham could have that would have her leaving so quickly after his arrival to Hawkins and this soon turned into her having anxiety that perhaps the young Alpha would constantly be traveling somewhere and would never fully settle down at Cherry Lane as she ought to.

Lady Byers was the one to talk her down suggesting that Ms. Cunningham being away in Nevada was only in fact to bring a rather large part of people back with her for the ball. Mrs. Harrington still being rather wound up meant Joyce felt she had no choice but to try and coax her friend into relaxing by suggesting this would perhaps mean more Alphas for her lovely children. This did work to make her more bearable but only for a little while.

Joyce truly adored Steve and Robin and even Dustin, everyone else she cared about to a lesser extent, especially since many of them were so hard to deal with. Mrs. Harrington was a good friend to have though even if she could be positively exhausting. Joyce could acknowledge that for all her bad qualities she’d certainly had her better ones.

Soon someone reported that Ms. Cunningham was bringing twelve Omegas, five Betas and two Alphas with her to the party. Every eligible Omega and Beta were in mourning by those projected number of fellow omegas and betas. Things were slightly better around town when the day before the ball the new rumor suggested instead of twelve and five, she had actually only brought six altogether, five Omegan sisters and a Beta cousin.

This was all proven false as soon as the party was actually in motion.

The ball itself was lively if somewhat casual in taste, there was no theme and though people were dressed up no one was in particularly fashionable colors and fabrics. This made some of the people nervous that it would be seen as too lowbrow by the big city standards of Ms. Cunningham and her entourage. Still, the lights were warm, brilliant and glowing and the ornate chandelier in the center of the ceiling was bathing everyone in glittering golden cheer. Nearly everyone who was dancing was also laughing just as brightly as those light shone. The atmosphere was cozy and familiar amongst the many families of the town. There was a raucous quality to the party however, but it lacked a certain pretension. Everyone was milling about excitedly, many already drunk on spirits and food.

Steve’s youngest siblings were nearly floating in merriment while they were in the throes of dancing. Steven and Jonathan Hopper were clapping joyfully along as they watched the progression of the dance, having to nearly shout to hear one another as they took in the the many fun and funny sights of the couples dancing across the floor. Some of those already drunken guests were making some very funny blunders alongside some odd couples. His own parents were looking on in the distance at what was nearly the other end of the hall in indulgence whilst his sister Nancy was standing near them playing the role of a dour little shadow.

In a fit of joy and affection Steve grabbed turned to Robin who sat on the other side of him and grabbed her hand, “Now, if every Alpha in the room doesn’t end up in love with you by the end of the night, then I am no good judge of beauty.”

Robin blushed and let out a short laugh that would have sounded like a scoff coming from anyone else.

“Or Alphas,” she said shaking her head. Steve was giggling in at her response.

Leaning into her he scrunched his nose and shook his head at her and still laughing said, “No, they are far too easy to judge.”

Robin rolled her eyes and thumbed gently at the green sleeve of Steve’s shirt before patting his hand and telling him, “They aren’t all bad.” The three omegas' eyes were all over the charged room.

“Humorless poppycocks in my limited experience!” Steve shared a grin with Jonathan as he gave his reply.

“One of these days, Steve, someone will catch your eye,” Robin smile was glittering as she looked around the room, humored by her brother but also will anticipation for eventual arrival of Ms. Cunningham, “and then you’ll have to watch your tongue.”

Jon watched the siblings in great amusement. While Robin was older and closer in age by just a year, he was particularly close with Steve who he had a deep unending fondness for.

Though he remained smiling Steve scrunched his nose again and shook his head with amused disagreement toward his sister.

A hush came over the entire room and suddenly there it was. This wouldn’t understand until marked the before and after.

There stood Ms. Cunningham and her party in the entrance hall staring out at all of of them.

The dance came to an abrupt end and all partners moved away parting like the red sea for dazzling newcomers. The three Omegas stood to see the figures who had caused such a sharp relief to the ongoing fun. There were murmurs all around, but nothing so easily heard or understood.

While Jonathan and Steve were looking on in curiosity, Robin was struck in awe by a member of the group who stood so elegantly in the front.

The group was decidedly less than had been rumored and consisted of three women and two men.

Where they were stood it was hard to make out too much about them and Steve wondered about which of the fine ladies was Ms. Cunningham and who all was with her.

When the gentleman Alpha, Sir James Hopper, the host of the ball, finally made his way up to greet them with a bow and a thankful welcome, Steve took the time to ask Jonathan the question that was burning up in his throat.

“So, which of the painted peacocks is our Ms. Cunningham?” Robin turned quickly to look at Jonathan also curious for the answer before turning back to stare at the new guests.

“The small one on the right with the strawberry blonde hair, that’s our Alpha. The older woman on her close left is her Omega sister, the two further back are her Beta brother and his Beta wife.”

Steve had never let his eyes wonder away from the party that was now walking down through the path created by the rest of the guests. He hummed quietly in acknowledgement before asking another question.

“And the man with a quizzical brow?” He was being fairly kind. The man was to be sure beautiful, with longer dark blonde hair and a face he was sure even from this distance could make others weep but it was set in fairly dark glare.

“That is her good friend, Mr. Hargrove.”

Steve let out a huff of laughter as he looked over each of them.

“Goodness,” he started, “He looks miserable, the poor soul.”

Jon hummed back in amusement, “Well, miserable he may be, but I assure you, poor he most certainly is not.”

Steve grinned, he found it all so funny. The older Omega was haughty and stood closer to the miserable beast of a man as she looked down her nose while making acquaintances with others as they were all led through.

“Tell me.”

“You sure you can handle it, Steven?” Jonathan himself couldn’t hide his quieter amusement very well either and tugged at his friend's sleeve so he would lean down so he could whisper the rest, “He is an Alpha of 10,000 a year and he owns half of California.”

Robin stared at Jonathan in astonishment over what she was hearing, but Steve was not so easily impressed by some random Alpha of incredible fortune. He knew the alpha was out of the realm of possibility past acquaintanceship, and he did not even at this point seem to think that even that was in that was a possibility with the way he carried himself. No, Steve thought, that is not the kind of Alpha who would acknowledge an acquaintance with the people of this room.

“The miserable half?”

The response gave way to Jonathan letting out a quiet snort and giggle in surprised amusement. He ducked his head into his chest shaking trying to make it quieter whilst he hunched closer to Steve who did nothing to hide how delighted he was. Even Robin couldn’t hide her mirth so well.

She nudged her brother quickly and discreetly tried to tap at Jonathan’s hand urgently as it seemed the small party of newcomers was to pass their way with Sir Hopper making introductions and commentary about the building.

Steve felt a eyes on his face as the three of them curtsied with lowered heads as the group was starting to pass. His head being lowered prevented him from seeing the blonde figure do a double take at him. As the three of them came back up smiling his eyes met a pair cornflower blue one. It was brief and electric eye contact before the blue ones snapped away from his and turned to face forward once again. Steve couldn’t help but stare, mouth slightly open at the man as he strode further away before demurely looking down at the ground. A thrum had run through his body forcing him intensely upright when their eyes had met. Steve shook off the arresting moment with a huffed out laugh. The eye contact had been unexpected and the feeling of it interesting.

It had felt the way a gasp does when leaves your body in shock.

[sjsmith56]

The Flame Burns From Within, Part 4 - Captive

Summary: Lady Arden is forced to reveal her marriage. Lord Barnes and his men continue their pursuit of Pierce’s forces.

Characters: Lady Arden, Lord Pierce, Ser Brock, Riley, Lord Barnes, Ser Anthony, Father Bruce, Ser Samuel.

Warnings: Physical violence against a woman, intimidation and threats, reference to a forced miscarriage.

Author notes: The image in the banner was created by the author using Microsoft Copilot app. Divider by vecteezy.com.

<<Part 3

Part 4 - Captive

Lady Arden

The journey from the church to Lord Pierce's estate wasn't far but I wasn't permitted to exit the carriage on our arrival. Instead, I was joined in the compartment by his wife and daughter, along with a maidservant. Lady Pierce, her face red and her hair disordered, stared at me with some hostility, then sighed when the carriage door was closed again and we departed in greater haste towards another destination.

"You are older than my daughter," she grumbled. "He must intend for you to marry our eldest son. Why no one else was good enough for him is beyond me but then I am never consulted on these matters."

I said nothing to her comment, since she didn't ask a question. Instead, I looked out the small window trying to determine where we were being taken. James' belief that Pierce's attack on the church would result in the loss of his lands must have been a correct one for it seemed that the whole household was accompanying our carriage. Whenever we turned into a curve, I could see wagons loaded up with the household goods behind us in a long procession. Far in the distance I could see the columns of smoke, certain that he had set his estate on fire. His attack on the church wasn't a sudden impulse. The fact he had his possessions ready to leave his lands was proof that he planned this long ago.

"I will not marry your son," I stated, fixing Lady Pierce with my gaze. "I am betrothed to another."

"He doesn't care," answered the woman. "You have always been his prize. He tried to negotiate for you in good faith, but your fool uncle wouldn't even entertain his offers. Now he has made us fugitives to claim you for our house. You must have a large fortune for him to be so insistent."

"I have nothing," I answered. "Your husband took my family away from me when he killed my parents, and my uncle offered me sanctuary." She looked at me with a blank expression, as if my words were confusing to her. "I am from the House of Forrest. Lord Pierce slaughtered my parents then said he found them dead of the wasting disease. He took their lands under his stewardship after burning everything to cover up his crime."

Pierce's daughter looked fearfully at her mother, whose face was becoming redder by the moment as I laid out my charges against her husband.

"You lie," she replied, not quite convincingly. "He's a pillar of the kingdom; well respected and always called by the king to give counsel."

I shook my head. "No, he and the Houses of Rumlow and Walker have been conspiring to overthrow the king. More than a fortnight ago, he sent an unmarked force to the palace, attacking it in the night. His men killed the Crown Prince and his oldest son. I was at Ser Anthony's when word came to Lord Barnes of the attack. He hastened to provide his support to the throne. That was the night I was formally betrothed to Lord Barnes. Just last night your husband and his men surrounded my uncle's castle, intent on preventing Lord Barnes entry to it, and our attendance at church this morning for the third reading of the banns. They entered the church with their weapons in hand, knocked down the priests, then took women and children as hostages to force Lord Barnes to give me to them. Your husband is a traitor."

The state of their marriage must not have been stable as she had nothing to counter my words. It meant she knew he was capable of what I told her. She and her daughter would pay a steep price for being connected to such a man. The maidservant, older than me with hair as red as mine except darker in tone, watched us closely as we spoke. Never once, did she give any sign of distress or disbelief on her part. It seemed she was more aware than her mistress was.

After many hours of travel, during which I dropped a small torn piece of the trim on my dress out the window as we went past an inn, we stopped at a tavern, long after the sun had gone down. Another party of sell swords were there to greet us. I listened to their report to Lord Pierce on their travels, but their words were too indistinct for me to make out. Then the carriage door opened and the man who helped me into the carriage appeared.

"Lord Pierce says we will stop here for a meal and a brief rest. You may wish to refresh yourselves at the same time."

He offered Lady Pierce his hand first, then her daughter, then me. A look passed between him and the maidservant. It was just a flicker of recognition then it was gone but I noticed it and wondered if they were perhaps lovers. She assisted Lady Pierce into the tavern, while her daughter and I followed. It was dark and close inside; certainly not a place I would willingly go into, but I was hungry and needing the use of the privy. When I made my needs known, the maidservant and the sell sword followed me; her inside the facility while holding a candle to light my way, him on guard outside. Pulling my skirts up over my knees I placed myself in position while the woman looked away.

"I don't need a guard inside. I have no idea where I am and no chance of escape."

"That is not why I am here," she said, in a low voice. "I am a friend, as is the sell sword at the door. His name is Riley. We will try to find an opportunity for you to escape, but if that is not possible, we will at least leave a trail for your betrothed to follow.”

She handed me the candle then lifted her own skirt, pulling a knife out of a sheath strapped to her leg. Digging into the wood in a dark corner of the privy she drew an image of a flame, then an arrow pointing in the direction we were headed, followed by two wavy lines to indicate the sea. The knife was slid back into the sheath once she was satisfied with her efforts.

"We're headed to a port?"

"That's what Riley has learned," she confirmed. "Pierce has allies across the sea in Brittania. We'll try to help you escape before then for once you're on a ship it will be harder to rescue you."

A small tap on the door signalled us to be quiet and she turned away from me so that I could complete my necessities. As we left the small privy, Riley was no longer at his place. Instead, it was Ser Brock. He glared at both of us, his scarred face cast in a permanent scowl. I refused to let him intimidate me and I looked steadily in his eyes.

"I have been in that carriage for hours."

"As I have been in the saddle, Lady Arden." His eyes narrowed. "Lord Pierce orders your presence at his table."

I brushed past him, followed by the maidservant, whose name I still didn't know but for now I would think of her as Ruby to match her hair. Rumlow watched us from his spot for some time, making me wonder if he intended to check the privy for signs of me leaving a clue, but he didn't. Instead, he sat next to Pierce at the large table, grabbing a tankard of ale and drinking in a manner that was typical of most men of his upbringing. On the other side of Lord Pierce were two young men, fair haired but indistinguishable from any number of ordinary men. Their beards were dark but spotty as if their faces couldn't decide whether to make them look more manly or scruffy. Like him, they each had their hands around a piece of meat, tearing into them with their teeth. Walker sat further down, watching me with a curiosity that bothered my sensibilities. A piece of meat was placed on a platter in front of me, along with a thick slice of bread. I took what I could manage.

"These are my sons," said Pierce, gesturing to the two young men. "Richard is 24, sturdy and reliable. His brother, William, is 26, a good swordsman, and has already bested several men in battle. I give you the option of choosing which one will be your husband. It is of no consequence to me which one you choose."

"Neither," I said, looking him in the eye.

He reached forward and slapped me with the back of his hand. The fat from the piece of meat he had held in that hand dripped off my cheek and I wiped it off, looking defiantly at him.

"You will choose, Lady Arden," he declared. "I mean to have you as a member of my house before we leave for Britannia. It is my preference that the marriage be performed before the voyage so that my line is secured on the trip over."

"That will be difficult," I replied, "seeing as how I am already with child."

There was silence at the table as he took in my words. His own sons watched him nervously as his colouring changed from fair to ruddy. He made them all jump when he slammed his fist on the table.

"Who?" I smiled at him, and he withdrew his dagger, extending it to my throat. "You laid in sin with Barnes?"

"No, there was no sin involved. We were married over a fortnight ago by the priest whose church you burned. He already took news of the marriage to the Bishop and the banns were waived, as I carry Lord Barnes' child. We were merely going through the formality of reading the banns as normally would be done. It was your own actions that forced Lord Barnes hand, due to your attack on the King. I know I carry his child for I have already missed my monthly course.”

Even in this busy tavern I could hear the sound of his breathing, as he struggled to maintain control of his temper. I picked the meat up and tore a small piece off with my teeth, chewing it as I watched him. Ser Brock leaned forward and whispered in Pierce's ear, leading him to nod his head. He sat back down and glared at me.

"There are ways to make a woman expel a child from her body," he stated. "We need to find someone who knows the proper herbs."

"I'll tell the priest," I said. "Plus, by now the record of my marriage has gone to Rome. If you force me into a marriage with one of your sons, it will be declared illegal, and any offspring will be illegitimate. You can't change that so easily. I will not cooperate, Lord Pierce, especially not with the man responsible for my parents' deaths."

"Then I'll make sure that Lord Barnes meets his own death." His voice was steady as he stared intently at me. "Nothing will stop my son from marrying his widow. Your child with Barnes will have no standing in my house and I can turn him out at will."

"Then you will have another death on your hands." I stood up, drawing all my dignity together to give him a glance at the fire that burned within me. "If you harm my child I will kill you with my own hands."

He started laughing, which prompted his sons William and Richard, John Walker, and Ser Brock to join in, followed by his men who were nearby. Before he could counter my effort, I took the knife which lay on the platter of meat and brought it to his cheek, slicing it open. Rumlow reacted first, grasping my wrist hard and forcing the knife from my hand but the damage was done as Pierce raised his hand to his cheek and came away with blood on his fingers. I believe he would have throttled me then, but Rumlow barked at Riley who came forward.

"Lock her in the carriage," he said. "We'll see if she is this feisty after sleeping there tonight."

He took me out of the tavern and over to the carriage, which sat without horses as they grazed freely in the fields nearby. Once we were out of earshot, he whispered furiously.

"What were you trying to do?"

"Exactly what you saw," I answered. "I will not cooperate with him. He will find I am no meek daughter of one of his cronies."

"He will hurt you and will send a force against Lord Barnes." We got to the carriage, and he opened the door. In the distance we could see Rumlow watching us as he dispatched two other men to guard the carriage. Riley looked to see who they were and shook his head. "Do not antagonize these two. They will have no qualms in taking their anger out on you." Helping me in he stopped just before he closed the door. "We have two days of travel to get to the port. I can't help you escape if you are locked up like this. Lady Arden, please, temper your actions."

"I will try."

He sighed, then locked me inside. Acknowledging the two men who arrived to guard me during the night he kept walking towards the tavern without looking back. I pulled the cushions from the seats and laid them on the floor of the carriage. It was a rash action for me to cut open Pierce's cheek, but his arrogance irked me and the fire within me burned at that moment when he threatened not only my love but my child. I didn't lie when I told him my monthly course hadn't yet arrived. It was late by almost a week, and I hoped with all my heart that it meant I carried James' child. If I wasn't, then my options for preventing a marriage would be limited even more.

Lord Barnes – evening

The flames over Pierce Manor were still visible for miles as we approached those lands, an obvious sign we were too late to stop Lord Pierce's forces. What was worse, my best trackers told me that a great host of wagons, horsed men, and carriages left earlier, bound for the northeast. His house had been ready to leave at a moment's notice, his intentions quite evident. Why he would attack the King just two weeks ago, then abandon his properties now puzzled me. It was a tactic that made no sense.

"My Lord," said Barton, approaching me. "The men who sought out Lord Pierce's tenants say they departed early in the afternoon, an hour after midday. None were aware of his destination." He looked at the ruins. "Why would he destroy his own property like that? It makes no sense."

"To prevent anyone from taking it over," said Ser Samuel, who came closer on his own horse. "It was a tactic used in the Holy Wars between my brethren and yours, to keep the other side from easily gaining a foothold. It is a warning to you that he will go to extreme lengths to keep you from Lady Arden. It is a tactic of war; make no mistake about that."

His words were true. It was a tactical retreat, and his scorching of his properties was meant to slow us down as well as make it impossible for the King to assign those lands to an ally. It would take years to rebuild the manor. By that time Pierce would have been able to strengthen his forces with the help of powerful houses in Britannia, France, or Spain, any one of which would want a foothold in our young realm.

"Give the signal," I said to Barton. "We move on and follow the trail. We'll ride as long as we can before we rest our horses."

I saw the priest, Father Bruce, sitting atop his own horse, his hand on his crucifix and his lips moving in prayer, at the destruction visible to us. He crossed himself finally then rode closer to me.

"We move on, I take it," he said, simply. "To destroy an estate that took lifetimes to build is evil. His serfs and tenants will be masterless, and unable to have the advantage of his protection against bandits or invaders."

"It was an evil act, as evil as his attack on the church," I replied. "We are continuing the pursuit. If it becomes too much for you, Father, I can leave two men with you while you rest."

"I am fine," he answered. "I will rest when you do."

His answer reassured me to his stamina. As mild and meek as he appeared, he was a man of inner strength. It did not matter to me if it was his faith that drove him. I found myself willing to listen to his counsel for it was as reasoned as well as any other man. As we rode with Ser Anthony who had joined us with some of his men, and additional men provided by the King, we spoke of many things. The topic of my years of travel came up and Ser Anthony came closer.

"It was Lord Fury who told me of your falling out with Lord Pierce. May I ask how that came about?"

I sighed, as I was not proud of my previous association with the man, or Ser Brock of House Rumlow.

"Pierce was a childhood friend of my father's and Lord Fury," I began. "They were like brothers for a time. After my father's death, it was Pierce who invited me to travel with him and Rumlow to explore trading relationships with certain houses. Lord Fury was there when the offer was made and suggested to the King that the Duke also accompany us, as part of what was an unofficial diplomatic mission." I grimaced at the memory. "It was anything but. We visited more brothels and courtesans than estates. In fact, the two men encouraged us to leave the diplomacy to them, while the Duke and I explored the more salacious aspects of Europe. It wasn't until we were in Spain, and I visited the Bishop of Seville, who was related to my mother, that I heard different counsel. When I told him who my travelling companions were he cautioned me against trusting Lord Pierce. Apparently, he had wanted to court my mother, but my father made his offer first. The Bishop was of the opinion that Pierce's plan was to weaken me so that my house could be taken over by his. I began to question their treatment of me and the Duke. After speaking frankly with Prince Steven, we began to distance ourselves from them."

"They were setting up their alliances with willing houses, weren't they?" asked Ser Anthony. He shook his head. "It must have disturbed you to realize he thought so little of you."

"I felt like I had disgraced myself," I admitted, thinking back to that time in my youth. "No wonder you didn't think I was a suitable husband for Lady Arden."

"What was the defining moment?" Father Bruce gazed at me with understanding. "What finally severed the connection?"

"I overheard a chance remark by Ser Brock that they should have done to House Barnes what was done to House Forrest, except no one would want my sister Rebecca as compensation for the trouble. The remarks they made about her were vile and angered me, so I confronted him. We fought." I rubbed my left arm, remembering the wound given to me by that man. "If I hadn't been wearing armour that day he would have taken my arm. It was Ser Samuel Wilson who intervened in the battle, sending a falcon to attack Rumlow. It scarred his face, further hardening his heart against me and my family."

Both Father Bruce and Ser Anthony switched their attention to my friend, the man who had been reluctant to leave Spain, where he had been born and raised during the Moors' occupation of that land, until the Church fought back.

"It was evident my path lay with Lord Barnes and the Duke," he said solemnly. "To ease my travels in this land, I assumed a Christian name, although Samuel is a name known to my people."

"So, you are not a Christian?" asked Father Bruce.

Samuel smiled. "I am not, but I have been told I am a good man, nonetheless. Will that suffice for you, Father Bruce? I have the greatest respect for you as a man."

He surprised us all by laughing aloud for some time. In a gesture that surprised us all, he extended a hand to Ser Samuel and grasped his forearm in the way men of battle do when in solidarity. When he released it, he made the sign of the cross at the man.

"That will suffice," he answered. "I am not so rigid in theology to think that my faith is superior to yours. We both worship the same god, but our methods differ. Our worlds are not so different as they both have good men and evil men; that is evident to me."

It was another surprising statement by the priest, and I began to wonder what his own past had been like that he was both worldly and open-minded, unlike many of his kind. Throughout the next few hours, we conversed of many things to pass the time in the saddle. Ultimately, we all began to flag, and I called a halt to our ride. We found an inn that accommodated us in the main building and in its stables, once I showed the owner a gold piece, with a promise of more. They fed us well in their tavern, and we slept until sunrise.

When I arose in the morning, a meal awaited us. I gladly paid the owner five gold pieces for his trouble. As we saddled and mounted our horses, he came out with a thoughtful expression.

"There was another large procession that passed us by yesterday, just before dark," he said. "It was strange, as there was a fine carriage with several women and a young maiden in it, plus many wagons with fine furnishings and possessions. I tried to entice them to stay with us as they passed, but their leader never even paid any heed to me. However, this was dropped from the carriage. It occurred to me that you may be tracking that procession."

He held his hand out, holding a small piece of trim from Arden's dress. She must have ripped it off the fabric with her own hands. Reaching into my small coin purse I withdrew another gold piece and offered it to him, in exchange for the piece.

"I thank you, sir," I said sincerely. "May you always have visitors at your doors."

He smiled gratefully and stepped back as we began to ride. Other than the tracks of the many wagons, it was the first real evidence we were on the right road. However, we were still many hours behind them. We rode until the sun was high overhead and stopped at another inn with a tavern. Like the previous place, the owner of this one was anxious to make us happy and he brought out great platters of food and ale for us. With an actual privy on the premises, several of my men took advantage of the facility to relieve themselves. It was one of them who came to me.

"My Lord, there is something in the privy that you should see," he said, pointing towards the door to the facility.

Raising myself from the stool, I went with him into the small room and looked at him, expectantly. He pointed to a darkened corner, where a flame, an arrow pointing northeast, and two rippled lines had been recently carved into the wood. The wood underneath had not yet had the chance to darken with age. It was obviously a message meant for me and I thanked all the gods for the foresight of the spy I had in Pierce's house, wondering if she was responsible for this message. Natasha, a woman with her own quarrel with the man, had been there for almost a year, watching him. It was through her efforts that I acquired the ring I placed on Arden's finger, that now rested on a chain around my neck. Leaving the privy, I sought out the owner.

"There was another large party that came through here," I stated. "Tell me, was there a young woman, with hair like flame and wearing a dress of the colour of cream? It was trimmed with this."

I showed him the small piece of trim.

"Aye, M'Lord," he answered. "She was there, at a table with an older man, two younger men who may have been his sons, a sallow fair-haired man, and a dark-haired man with a scarred face. The older man struck her for something she said but she showed no fear and even managed to cut his cheek with a knife."

I smiled. Ever since Arden showed me the blade in her boot I wondered if she was self-assured enough to use it. The tavern owner's words were clear that she was.

"When did they leave?" I asked.

He scratched the back of his head and scrunched up his face. "Two hours before sunrise, just as the mist began to form. They were headed northeast, following the main road on the island. The lady was forced out to sleep in the carriage after cutting the man, with two guards upon her but she did not look the worse for wear when they hitched the horses and herded the other women in with her. The oldest one did not look happy at being awakened from her slumbers so early."

We had come closer but were still at least 8 hours behind them.

"Which harbour on the north shore can handle large ships?" Ser Anthony looked sharply at the man.

"The deepest ports that can receive large ships is Sag Harbor then the Northwest Harbour which is further by another day’s travel. Both have received large ships from across the seas. With all the wagons slowing them down the group that was here yesterday will need two days to get to the closer of the two."

We looked at each other with understanding. Pierce should be headed for the closer harbour. There was still a chance we could get to them before they reached Sag Harbour. Barton, who had stood behind my shoulder as the information was given to us, pulled his gloves on.

"Is the order given to mount up, my Lord?"

"Aye, prepare the men to leave. We ride until nightfall before breaking for a few hours rest. With any luck we can catch them by morning."

I paid our host five gold pieces for his troubles and mounted Soldier. Even he seemed eager to go, as if he understood how close we were to catching up to Pierce, and to Lady Arden. I smiled again at the thought of her slicing open Pierce's cheek. He must have said or done something that raised the flame of anger within her. It made my sensibilities feel full to realize that her heart was mine, as much as my heart was hers. She truly was a warrior inside, the blood of her ancestors still strong and vibrant. In every way, she held me captive with her abilities and the fire that burned within her.

Part 5>>

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[divinekangaroo]

I’m baffled as to why Tommy married Lizzie really. She is unsuitable to be a politician’s wife, a mistress on the side surely would have been fine, it's even norm. It is no way a good strategy or helps his reputation.

Agree! There was no strategic gain for him at all. It might nominally help his reputation with some working class voters, that he married within his class and not above it, but I don't know how that works if Lizzie's reputation as a prostitute was well known. Either way this nominal reputational boost with one demographic is not likely significant enough to be any part of his decision making. I feel there had to be some level of personal care for her in there, and a desire to do something for her, as well as his strong sense of family, because otherwise why would he marry her?

Based on cues in the canon, there's possible motivation including:

his strong cultural and personal sense of responsibility to family given Lizzie has his child - he's demonstrated this sense of family before with Grace, because as soon as he learned Grace was pregnant in S2, he went immediately to marriage. This was different to his conversations with S1 Grace where he was satisifed with a relationship and not marriage. (And even his S2 pre-pregnancy conversations with Grace, where he seemed satisifed with an affair. And the way he brought Duke into the picture.) His children are very important to him!

an acknowledment/respect for Lizzie's unashamed willingness to be a single mother to his child, and all the stigma that carries on top of her past; marrying her would be the least he could do to help erase that stigma for her. Noting no amount of money would erase the stigma of single motherhood given his and her class of origin. These social privileges to the mistresses of upper class men do not apply to the mistresses of working class men who've acquired money.

he was feeling really fucked up at the end of S4, and Lizzie's helped him with comfort/care through other times when he was feeling really fucked up. Apart from being his regular pre S1, when his war trauma would have been the worst, in S2 Lizzie features with this one observable sexual event where he was with her immediately after Polly told him to get over Grace, and immediately before he had to do an assassination he didn't want to. S3 he clearly articulates she stopped his heart from breaking. Lizzie (and sex with Lizzie) represents some kind of easy, accessible physical comfort/softness for him between slices of hell.

some kind of guilt at how he'd treated her in the past (John, Epsom) when here she was, prepared to be a single mother to his child with no shame.

he actually likes her - S2 he goes to a special effort to elevate her out of being a prostitute, even when she was probably barely capable of the role at that point, S3 features several elements suggesting he trusts her significantly, S4 they have relaxed conversations despite all the shit going on, even in S5 in the middle of the worst and cutting at each other verbally, they both mutually decide to still try to find some middle ground where they can stay together, which suggests they have a lot of non-sexual/conversational history not shown on screen. They also have several almost comedic moments of chemistry in S4 and S5 which ties back to liking, too.

I 100% feel Ruby was the trigger for the marriage, no matter any other motivation, I don't think he'd marry her if there was no child. But he had to have more than *just* the child to go so far as marriage, hence the above.

I think, given Lizzie was the one he took to the bridge which was his 'can I still do good things the way Greta and I used to speak about' moment, this sort of symbolic link carried through Ruby's conception, he might have also thought marrying Lizzie would be a gesture of 'doing a good thing.' There is a constant theme in the series, and Tommy even clearly and verbally articulates it in S5, that when Tommy tries to do a good thing, people get hurt. Hence the weight of his regret for marrying Lizzie as expressed in S6 -- marrying her, which he likely saw as a good act, resulted in Lizzie's anguish and exposed her to hurt by both Tommy personally in his emotional closed-off state, and via the acts Tommy was doing in trying to sabotage Mosley, which he would not deviate from even when conscious of the hurt it would cause Lizzie.

[thestupidhelmet]

Do you think Jay's womanizing could be explained by his father's and uncles' constant bragging about his conquests when he was growing up? It would make sense for him to turn out like you described, but the way he turned out in the actual show could also make a lot of sense if you imagine his father and uncles sharing TMI about their own sex lives or saying things like: "don't settle down, sleep with as many girls as you can, that's the life" or "you are twelve and you still haven't kissed a girl? You need to get right on it, you're behind!" This kind of upbringing would produce a womanizer but the show could have delved more into that and had Jay tell more stories about his home life than just "my mom is mad that I set the carpet on fire"

I think it's a plausible possibility -- without Jackie being his mother or in his life. But Jackie would've made Jay the center of her life, especially with Kelso stepping out in her regularly (a reasonable extrapolation based on his T7S characterization and their relationship in both T7S and T9S).

Jackie would not want Jay emulating his father, despite that -- or because -- she can't disentangle her romantic feelings from Kelso. While she's her T7S S1-S4 controlling and somewhat violent self to T9S Kelso, she could very well treat Jay in a much more loving way. We know she's capable of it with the right influences and motivation.

With a mom who respects, loves, and supports him, Jay would (hopefully) not develop the misogyny Kelso and his male siblings have due, in large part, to their mother's inability to parent so many children and give the attention each needs. As Eric tells Kelso in "Stolen Car" (T7S S1), Kelso's parents have seven kids and won't notice Kelso is missing or have the wherewithal to care that one was arrested.

Of course, Kelso's father is equally responsible. But from what we see of him in "Career Day" (T7S 1x18), he's not turned into his emotions. He's a worker, possibly a workaholic. He's not the dad to play a baseball game with his kids or take them to a baseball game.

But for Kelso and Casey, at least, their anger and resentment at their upbringing is transferred onto all women since their mother is likely the parent who was physically present and doing most of the parenting -- and probably at her wits' end with seven of them to raise.

Jackie has one child in T9S. Despite that she's a Jackie whose relationship with Hyde is cut from her core, her core still contains her potential to love unconditionally, her emotional insight, her reflex to be helpful and supportive, her potential to be self-aware. Jay would've gotten the best of Jackie while growing up with the discipline and boundaries Kelso is incapable of giving him.

For example, he wouldn't have stolen Nate's bike because Jackie would've made sure Jay had the best of everything, partly to (over)compensate for the father he has and her toxic relationship with him.

Kelso's sex talk(s) would consist of "doing it as much and as often as you can. That'll prove you're the hottest guy around, and everyone'll look up to you. Also, most chicks'll expect you to be monogamous. Just tell them you are and have sex with whoever you want. It worked for me. Your mom still married me --twice -- despite all the cheating I do -- I mean did. Yeah. 'Cause she'd rather be with the hottest cheater than the loserist monogamist."

(^^^ This is before the third divorce and third remarriage).

Jackie's sex talks would also be romantic relationship talks. First, she'd tell him to ignore everything his dad said. Then she'd say, "Find out who the girl you like really is. It's easy to ignore red flags if you want an idea of a girl badly enough. Don't mistake what's fantasy for what's real.

"If you don't want to be 'tied down' to one girl, that's okay. Just be honest with the girls you date. Let them know you aren't interested in being anyone's full-time boyfriend. Then they have the choice to hook up with you or not. You wouldn't want a girl you really, really like to lie to you about that, right? And being silent about the truth is the same as lying."

Jay might ask her why she stays "with Dad" or keeps going back to him.

Jackie says, "You are a wonderful, smart, creative boy. You can be whoever you want. Have what you truly want. Don't settle for less than what you're worth."

Jay says, "Wait ... are you telling me you settled for Dad? Why?"

Jackie says, "I'm telling you that you don't have to settle."

Jackie refuses to elaborate, but Jay wants to know why his great mom would settle for his not-so-great dad. This would be a driving force because it's an inextricable part of his own identity (as forged by his upbringing).

[maaarine]

The outside world knows Wim Hof as the eccentric Iceman. His family suffered domestic violence (Anneke Stoffelen and Robert van de Griend, De Volkskrant, Sep 28 2024)

"The experiences in his youth left him with a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and he doesn’t want to be confronted with his father any more.

Let alone through a movie that will probably receive worldwide attention.

This is because his father is Wim Hof, the 65-year-old health guru who made millions of people all over the world enthusiastic about his cold-water trainings and breathing exercises.

The man who caused quite a stir with his ice bath records and mountain climbing while stripped to the waist, who wrote a self-help book that was translated into 44 languages, was welcomed into the homes of megastars such as Oprah Winfrey, Jim Carrey, Orlando Bloom, and Barbra Streisand, and who, according to the annual report of Hof Holdings made a profit of more than 6 million euros in 2022.

The man, also, who presents himself as a teacher in love.

‘I want to reach billions of people,’ he said in an interview, ‘and teach them how they can live in love and drive out their inner darkness.’

So, about him a film will be made with actor Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale, Shakespeare in Love) as the protagonist.

An ‘inspiring’, ‘moving’, and ‘at times extremely funny’ movie, according to the advance publicity.

For Caroline (65) and her children the news was bitter.

For them the name Wim Hof is synonymous with years of aggression, physical violence, humiliation, manipulation and – in Caroline’s case – also sexual abuse.

They know the Iceman, as Hof calls himself, as a mean drunk with an explosive character and delusions of grandeur.

Someone of whom they had to be permanently wary. (…)

It is painful to them that the man responsible for this has so many followers today.

The news of the movie, which may further promote Hof’s heroic and loving image, is the last straw for them.

A few months after having been approached by the producer, Caroline, in consultation with her children, contacted de Volkskrant to tell their story.

That story, supported by court verdicts, a report from Child Welfare, medical files, emails, and a complaint against Hof pertaining to physical abuse of a previous partner, paint a shady side of one of the most influential health gurus in the world.

From documents read by de Volkskrant it appears that Hof’s fame was a catalyst for his aggression.

He became fully convinced of his own genius, became more and more demanding, and no longer tolerated any criticism.

At the same time, his fame made it more difficult for Caroline and her children to talk about their precarious situation because who would believe that this sympathetic Iceman would be capable of such terrible things? (…)

In her research, Monckton-Smith, a former police detective and now an international authority when it comes to femicide, discovered that intimate terror almost always follows a set pattern.

She is not familiar with Hof’s case, but in a video interview she outlines how this pattern looks in general.

One of the tell-tale signs is that perpetrators very quickly push towards big steps in the beginning stages of the relationship – living together, marrying, having children.

‘Perpetrators want commitment from their partners, because it gives them control.’

‘This is why quickly pressing for a pregnancy against their partner’s wishes is a big red flag. Once you have a child together, that is a lifelong basis for control.’ (…)

Studies into domestic violence show that it relatively often begins or worsens during pregnancy, although criminologist Monckton-Smith believes that it is the underlying controlling behaviour that becomes more manifest then.

‘When the woman becomes pregnant, her priorities change. The controlling man can find it hard to accept that she is paying more attention to herself and the baby than to him.

In addition, there are outsiders who have an influence on the victim, such as obstetricians and doctors. For controlling partners, they constitute a threat.’ (…)

For criminologist Monckton-Smith it is the most prominent question of her career: why doesn’t she leave?

After studying hundreds of femicide cases the criminologist has come to the conclusion that women don’t leave because they estimate that leaving is more dangerous than staying.

And quite often this is the case. ‘To leave means to escalate,’ says Monckton-Smith.

‘We, as a society, say to these women that they should leave, but if they do there is no one to protect them against the violence.

Women do not make a conscious decision to remain in the relationship; they just stay until they have safe escape plan.’ (…)

The threat of the relationship being ended is the main trigger for controlling partners to turn to serious violence and even murder, as Jane Monckton-Smith’s research shows.

‘These people tend to see a divorce as an attack on their ego and their rights. For fear of being humiliated and losing control, they will try and reinstate their status.’"